What Were You Looking For
by SparkyBraginski
Summary: Quinn was in her element. She had honestly never felt so in control. She didn't exactly enjoy the feeling of killing people, but she felt a certain sense of accomplishment when she did.
1. Princess

**Chapter One: Princess**

Quinn rose on the morning of the Reaping to the sounds of her family running around downstairs. She could already picture her mother and her sister dashing about like headless chickens, preparing everything for their _darling_ girlcoming downstairs on one of the most important mornings of her life. As she got up and opened her curtains, she could hear them cooking her meal and bickering about how much bacon she should be allowed on her big day.

She despised them both.

Quinn, in all honesty, hated quite a lot of things about her life. But she was glad to say that in a few shorts weeks it would either be over, or she would have the opportunity to never speak to anyone again. Neither option thrilled her to any extent, but she had assured herself that they would both be favourable to staying where she was, and at least she was being forced into this so there was little else she could do. Other than the obvious, which was to simply not volunteer. But, even though she hated everyone she had come into contact with to date and resented them all for picking her to be their shining star Tribute, she had indeed put a good fifteen years of work in to getting to this day, and she certainly wasn't going to discount that effort to spite her District. She didn't think anyone could be that bad. She pulled her robe on and grabbed her hairbrush as she contemplated her options. She prepared herself for being pampered and made to look perfect so she could make a wonderful impression on people who she would never meet, and would probably watch her die, all while she re-affirmed that there was little else she could do. She sighed and exited her bedroom, fearing the worst from her mother.

Now sitting at her dining table with a plate of bacon and fruit with a glass of milk, Quinn was eating her breakfast carefully as her sister brushed her hair for her and her mother sat at the other end of the table with a cup of coffee, reeling off things that Quinn just _had_ to remember.

"Remember, smile. Be confident, and don't be afraid to use your appearance as a weapon."

"Mum, I know." Quinn interrupted, inadvertently noticing how badly her mother's hands were shaking. "Believe me, I know everything you have to say." She said. Her mother sighed and nodded.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry Quinnie. I'm just nervous." Quinn, feeling her sister finish braiding her hair, got to her feet and gave her mother a practiced smile.

"Don't be nervous for me. You should be more worried about Jesse." And with that she retreated back to her room to put on her dress for the Reaping. It was light blue and made to match that of the other Tribute from District 1. She, and her inevitable partner, had been hand chosen at the age of three to be the District's representatives fifteen years later. The pair were now eighteen and thus ready to volunteer to compete in the Hunger Games. Since they had been picked, both of the children had been groomed, trained, drilled and worked until they were perfect. At the age of twelve both had been assigned personalities to assimilate, picked to be the most efficient form of their previous ones. Quinn never really had that many friends to begin with, so it was easy for her trainers and coaches to decide how to fit her into a specific mould. She was going for cold and unfeeling, her natural beauty being used to grab the attention of any and all people she came across. It was true that Quinn was staggeringly beautiful, she doubted there was anyone who would disagree with this fact, but that didn't mean she liked it when people judged her on her appearance, just because she didn't have a full personality.

Well, really, she couldn't blame them for that, either.

The idea was that she remained cold and uncaring and _untouchable_ until she was provoked. She would be perfect and charming and sweet and maybe even nice, until someone made a wrong step or said the wrong thing. Then she would use her _extensive_ knowledge of fighting to cut her opponent down to size. Literally.

Jesse St. James, on the other hand, was actually privileged with emotion. He got to have that 'boy next door' feel to him, or something. He was almost the reverse of Quinn, personality-wise. He had humour and a genuine smile, and bright eyes until someone pissed him off, and then he would become a machine that would simply crush everything in his path. Naturally Quinn knew all of his triggers and all of the little tricks that could make him calm down. He only lived two houses down the road from her, so when she stepped out onto the street in her light blue dress, he was already there in his suit waiting for her. He smiled at her, so she smiled back as they linked arms. The two were as close to friends as Quinn had ever been, and she wasn't afraid to take advantage of him because of it.

"So, today's the big day." He said.

"That it is. Tell me, Jesse, how does it feel to know the day we've spent our whole lives working towards is finally here?" she asked. He chuckled at her.

"Why don't you tell me?" He answered, taking his arm from hers as they got ready to be registered and sorted into the crowd. As the peacekeeper registered him, he looked back and nodded at Quinn.

"See you up there." He grinned. She rolled her eyes and held her hand out to the peacekeeper, barely noticing him pricking her finger. She flowed into the crowd and stood among the other eighteen year old girls. A lot of them smiled at her as she walked past, a few even patted her on the back. She smiled at a couple of them gratefully, while internally cursing each and every one of them. She stopped towards the front of the group, and watched the stage dutifully. The representative walked out onto the stage and up to the podium. She played the video, announced that she was going to pull the names out, and then reached into the ball of names to pull out the female Tribute's name. Quinn didn't pay any attention to name called out once she was sure it wasn't hers, so she relaxed slightly, having passed the first hurdle. She could feel a small pit of cold anxiety in the bottom of her stomach but she kept calm on the outside. It was simple. All she had to do was step forward and say the words. She looked over at the boys and noticed Jesse standing there, his lips moving slightly. She smirked at his nervous habit and looked back at the stage. She rehearsed the plan in her head. Jesse was going to volunteer as soon as he was allowed, and Quinn had to wait until the very last second before she did.

No pressure.

And sure enough, barely halfway through asking for volunteers the representative was interrupted by Jesse stepping forward and volunteering.

"Wonderful! Sir, why don't you come stand up here and we can introduce you after we've made sure there won't be another volunteer!" She waited for him to reach the stairs before she spoke again. "Are there any female volunteers? Any at all?"

"Just a second more," Quinn whispered.

"No…? Well, in that case-"

"I volunteer as Tribute!" Quinn raised her voice, breaking free from the girls. She felt like everything had gone silent around her even though she knew better. The representative beckoned her to the stage and she walked up to the front, perfectly poised and absolutely ready for anything she could be asked.

"What's your name, sweetheart?"

"Quinn Fabray." Soft smile, perfectly practised.

"And you, sir?"

"I'm Jesse St. James." Wide grin, hands in pockets, casual stance. "So, Quinn, tell us, are you nervous at all?"

"No, of course not. Jesse, now, he should be nervous." She pulled a mischievous grin, earning a ripple of laughter through the audience.

"Aw, Quinnie, don't make me look bad so soon!" Jesse answered, making a mock pout. The pair chuckled in rehearsed unison before they shook hands and followed their representative off stage.

Quinn waited in her room for her mother and her sister. Jesse was in the room across the hall, waiting for his family as well. She heard as his parents and his siblings crashed into his room and sighed. Soon enough her door opened and her mother was hugging her tightly, sobbing.

"Mum, what's the matter?"

"I don't want to lose you!" Quinn nearly rolled her eyes.

"I'll be fine. Trust me."

"But, what if-"

"But nothing, mum. Please get off of me." Quinn said. Her mother slowly pulled away and Quinn brushed herself off as she spoke.

"I'm either going to win, or not win. And the chances of me winning are so much greater than everyone else's. It doesn't matter whether or not my chances of winning are bigger than my chances are of losing. The odds are, quite literally, in my favour." She bit her lip, wondering how much sense that sentence actually made as her mother stopped crying.

"The point is, you really don't have anything to cry about." She said. "_I certainly won't miss you._" She added, inside her head. There was a knock at her door and her mother put and necklace into Quinn's hands.

"Keep it safe."

Everything was quite boring to Quinn after that. She got on the train, and she was introduced to her mentor, Sue Sylvester. Sue was everything that she had been promised. Experienced, sour and rude. She had gotten changed into something a bit more comfortable, though still quite formal, and had returned to the main carriage to watch the other District's Reapings. Which obviously opened with her own Reaping.

"Okay punks, this is it. Your chance to see how badly you did in that sorry performance and how much better than you your competitors are." Sue said. Quinn actually thought that she did quite well, all things considered. But she couldn't help but speculate as to what the other Tributes were thinking about as they were pulled or volunteered. She blinked, as these thoughts crossed her mind. She was curious, for the first time in her life, about someone that wasn't herself. As the couple from District 3 nodded at each other knowingly, the boy from District 4 volunteered for his little brother, the pair from District 5 hugged instead of shaking hands… She blinked again and was suddenly filled with an unfamiliar emotion. Was she… Afraid? No, she couldn't be. She had nothing to fear.

"_Except for this unexpected emotion that can only be described as caring."_ She thought. Jesse's hand on her knee drew her out of her reverie.

"You okay, Q?" he asked. She looked at him and nodded, giving a thin lipped smile.

"Never better."

* * *

Santana kept her head up as she walked through the forest, trying not to gain anyone's attention. All of the workers there knew her, of course, but they were meant to be working and she was meant to be at school. So she passed through the trees with no interruption, knowing the pattern of the roots below her feet better than the back of her hand. She was so engrossed in getting to her destination that she nearly screamed when a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist and lifted her into the air. When her feet hit the ground again she turned around and punched the assailant in the shoulder.

"Dammit Puck! You're lucky I realised it was you or I would've gone-"

"All crazy, I know. You should really calm down, you know while I'm in these woods you aren't gonna get hurt. The Puckster can't have his best bro in danger."

"Please, don't go out of your way to make your mohawked maw any bigger. I can take care of myself, you know."

"Oh, I know you can handle yourself Lopez, I'm more concerned about my rep." Puck countered. The pair took a moment to glower at each other before they continued their banter. "Anyway, is it already time for me to pack up?"

"I have some errands to do before I get ready. I figured you could get off early today and keep me from dying of boredom." Santana said, folding her arms. Puck nodded.

"Well, my stuff's a bit further up but seeing as today is my last ever Reaping I'm sure it won't matter that I'm going early." Puck muttered, starting towards where he gestured. The pair got to where his stuff was scattered on the ground, and Puck picked all his stuff up as he asked what they needed to do.

"My abuela told me to go get some vegetables so that she could cook for my parents." Santana said, folding her arms across her chest. Puck straightened and cocked his head.

"Her words or yours?" He asked. Santana punched his shoulder again.

"Hey, ow! What was that for?" He exclaimed, already following her back out of the woods.

"You know why, Puckerman."

"God, Santana, will it ever not be too soon?"

"Just don't fall behind, I can't be caught in public without _my man._" Santana hissed. Puck sighed and rolled his eyes before he kept following her dutifully.

When they were done shopping they went back to Puck's house, which is where Santana's clothes for the Reaping were waiting for her, along with Puck's suit. Her dress was red, with a black hem. Puck was wearing white pants with a white button up shirt, and they carried their clothes with them when they went back to the Lopez household. Santana opened the back door carefully and set the bag of food in the doorway that led to the kitchen.

"Maybe we can just-"

"Mija!" A voice interrupted Santana and she cursed under her breath.

"Yes, mami?" she answered. Her mother rushed through the kitchen to her daughter and enveloped her in a hug.

"I'll be watching from the sides, mija." She said. Santana hugged her back briefly before she moved onto Puck.

"Keep my daughter safe, Noah."

"I promise, Mrs Lopez." Puck answered, putting his arm around Santana's shoulders.

"Well, don't get changed out there. San's abuela is asleep. Get changed quickly." She ushered them into the house and they quietly made their way to Santana's bedroom to get changed.

"Three years ago we would've been having-" Puck got cut off by Santana throwing her shoe at his back.

"Puck, _please_, don't remind me." She blanched. He laughed and pouted, rubbing his back as he faced her and pulled his shirt on. "Now help me with the zip." She said, lifting her hair up and facing away from him. He did as he was told and zipped her dress up.

"Ready to go?" He asked, opening her bedroom door.

"Let's crash this party." Santana replied.

The pair split off once they got to the Reaping, Puck standing with the eighteen year old boys, Santana with the seventeen year old girls. Neither teen payed any attention as their representative strode out and spoke, not until the names were being reaped, even. They'd been signalling to each other across the arena until the very last second. Santana, thankfully, wasn't reaped. But they both froze when the boy's name was called.

"Noah Puckerman." It rang through the stadium and even as his arms dropped Puck found himself alone in the crowd. He pulled his gaze away from Santana and to the stage, before he finally started moving towards the stairs. Santana watched him stand before all Panem, his jaw tight and his chin up. She knew that meant he was trying not to cry, while also looking tough and strong. Santana kept watching as the representative asked for volunteers.

_"Oh, fuck it."_ She thought. "_If Puck's going to die, I may as well die next to him_."

"I volunteer as tribute!" Santana shouted. She barged through the crowd- most of which gave her a wide girth anyway- and stormed up the steps.

"And what's your name?" the representative held the microphone in front of her face. She resisted the urge to tear it out of his hand and answered.

"I'm Santana Lopez, I'm seventeen." She snapped, coldly.

"Well, I just need you two to shake hands like good kids and then-"

"We know." Puck barked. They shook each other's hands and followed the representative off the stage.

"What the hell are you thinking!?" Puck hissed. Santana elbowed him.

"I was _thinking_ that my life is bad enough already and cut my losses! You're my only friend, Puck, no one was going to take your place! What else was I going to do?"

"Excuse you, but I promised Mrs Lopez that I'd keep you safe! Volunteering wasn't on that agenda!"

"Why can't you keep the promise anyway?" Santana demanded. Puck grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

"Because, San, only one of us can survive, if we do at all! At least you were _safe_ with your family! My folks would've been glad to take you in if things got too rough, god! Don't you ever think?" Before Santana could reply, they were forced into separate rooms to wait for their family or friends to come talk to them, if they so chose. Santana stood and waited, picking at her nails, hoping that her parents would come. She wouldn't admit it, but she really hoped they would show up. When she was taken back out of the room and ushered into a car, she sighed, acknowledging that she hadn't expected them to come, anyway.

Puck didn't speak until they got to the train.

"Did they come?" he asked, sheepishly. Santana shook her head in response.

"Of course they didn't, Puckerman. And that's exactly why it wouldn't have been worth it for me to not volunteer."

"Geez, who took a shit on your days?" A voice travelled over to them. They pulled an identical frown as they looked over to where the voice came from to see a woman standing just inside the train with her hands on her hips.

"Well, in case you missed the show, we're going to die." Santana retorted. "_Basically." _She spat.

"Are you our mentor?" Puck asked.

"I am. Holly Holiday's the name; you're probably a bit young to remember my Games. You would've been seven or eight at the time." She paused. "We've got some time before the replay starts so you can either get out of those monkey suits or talk to me a bit about strategy." Puck and Santana looked at each other for a moment.

"Look, I don't know about San, but I need to get out of this monstrosity. Catch you later." He walked to a door on the other end of the train car and shut it behind him.

"What about you, sweet cheeks?" Holly asked. Santana shrugged as she took her shoes off.

"Let me take these heels off and I'll be fine."

"So you're obviously friends with Noah." Holly started.

"Oh god, please don't call him that. He's Puck, to everyone. And yeah, we're pretty close."

"Is that why you volunteered?"

"That and my home-life is shit anyway. Figured it couldn't be too bad."

"Must be pretty awful at home."

"It will be, without Noah." Santana mumbled. Holly nodded for a moment before she kept going.

"Alright, let's cut to the chase. Answer me honestly, do you think you can win?"

"I, uh…" Santana trailed off as she thought about it. She knew how to fight, how to hold her own. She knew how to piss people off, she wasn't afraid of confrontation. "Yeah." She finally finished. Holly arched an eyebrow at her.

"Are you sure about that, sweet cheeks?"

"Would you stop calling me that? And yeah, I am. I mean, I haven't seen the competition yet but I could do it."

"What about Puck?" Holly said. That threw Santana off a bit. She looked over her shoulder at the door Puck had exited through and swallowed.

"I couldn't kill him, but I'd be able to push through if he died."

"Would he kill you?"

"No." Santana said.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"How can you be sure?" Holly said. Santana was adamant though.

"I'm sorry, do you want me to paraphrase the last twelve years of my life for you or do you want to take my word for it?" Santana snapped. Holly nodded and smiled.

"Alright, alright. I get it. Anyway, you take a seat; I'll go grab Puck. The show's about to start." Santana settled on the couch Holly had gestured towards and waited for her to return with Puck.


	2. The Plumbers

**A/N: Hey guys! The response to the first chapter was ****_way_**** better than what I was expecting, so thank you! I feel I should mention that this is first time I've put a story up on here, and I've already written the whole thing so updates should be every two or so days. Reviews are awesome if you feel up to it, because positive reinforcement is ace!**

**Also I forgot to put in a disclaimer on the first chapter so the Glee characters are the property of Ryan Murphy and other partners, and the Hunger Games universe belongs to Suzanne Collins.**

**Now I bet you want me to shut up so you can read, so read on!**

* * *

**Chapter Two: The Plumbers**

Dani pulled her head out of the cabinet under the sink of the piping she was trying to fix. Her face and hands and hair were smeared with grime and oil, and she was no closer to fixing the blockage than she was when she got there.  
"Are you guys sure you don't know what got lodged in there?" she asked, looking back at the couple that she was contracted by. Neither of them answered her and she sighed.

"Look, I have to be out of here pretty soon for the Reaping. If I knew the size and shape of whatever's causing the problem this would be so much easier." The couple shared a look.

"We think that you should probably go start getting ready now." The man said.

"It's just, the time has probably gotten away from you a bit and you're probably a lot dirtier than you think you are." His wife added.

"And, at least we assume, this is your last Reaping, so being punctual is probably a good idea." The man finished. Dani frowned slightly.

"How long is it until the Reaping starts?"

"Two hours."

"Oh, man!" Dani yelped, scrambling to her feet. "I'm so sorry I didn't get the pipes finished, if you want me to come back after the Reaping-" Dani cut herself off with a hiss and retrieved her spanner from the pipe it was attached to before she kept talking. "I can come back and finish the job then," she tossed the spanner and the rest of her tools back into her bag. "And you can pay me then as well, if you'd like!" she stood in front of the couple for a moment. They exchanged another look.

"Of course, no problem. But, uh, what if you don't come back?" The woman said. Dani chuckled.

"Hey, you guys haven't paid me, I'll be back. Unless I get reaped, of course, but the chances of that happening are really pretty low, it's only my second last Reaping anyway." She eyed the clock on the wall behind them. "But yeah, I really need to go now. Sorry for the trouble!" And with that she darted out of the house and ran down the street back to her shoebox of an apartment. She dived into her shower and scrubbed at every spot of grime she could see and scrubbed harder everywhere she couldn't. She knew from personal experience, oil was a bitch to clean. She washed her hair as best she could before she pulled on a robe and walked back into her living room. She checked the time and saw that she had exactly thirty seconds left before her dress was meant to be arriving. Sure enough, there was a knock on her door exactly on time. She trotted over to her door and opened it to see her best friend waiting for her.

"Hey, Elliot." She smiled. He walked in and gave her the dress he was holding.

"Dani, you were so right. Not wearing my suit on the way here made the trip so much faster." He said, striding towards her bedroom.

"I swear, if you actually get reaped they'll let you design your own Chariot ride outfit." Dani called after him. He chuckled as he closed the door to her bedroom behind him.

"Cause I'm just _so_ badass." He said, right before the door shut.

"Yes, you can use my bedroom to change in." She muttered, getting into her dress quickly. It was cream with a black ribbon around her waist, and she knew it would look good, even though she hadn't seen it on her yet. Elliot left her room two minutes later. She checked how she looked in the full-length mirror in her room before she even bothered checking what Elliot was wearing.

"Oh man," she grinned, "This is awesome." She looked at what he was wearing. It was a white shirt with a dark grey jacket and pinstriped pants. The top of his jacket looked as though it was covered in dust, but when he moved it sparkled subtly.

"You know this isn't a dress-up ball or anything, right El?" She said. He shrugged.

"I lost the gloves _and_ the platform shoes on your request, Dan."

"I know." She said. "Anyway, we gotta go now, or we're going to be late."

* * *

The pair were walking down the street towards the District 5 Town Square getting a lot of strange looks. Eventually, Dani decided enough was enough.

"Elliot, take the top hat off."

"What? No! It completes my image!"

"We're going to a _Reaping_, El."

"So? I have a brand to build."

"You understand where we're headed, right?"

"Of course."

"And two kids are going to be sent to their almost certain deaths?"

"None of this is news to me, Dani."

"Please lose the hat."

"But the shoes!"

"Please."

"The gloves!"

"Elliot, please." Dani said. "I'll even let you keep the freaking goggles, please lose the hat."

"Alright fine, but I don't want to just leave it on the street somewhere in case I lose it."

"Oh dude," Dani stopped and stood on her tip toes so she could grab the hat herself, "Just make a new one after the Reaping, for Pete's sake." She finished, tossing the hat into an alley.

"Hey!"

"Hey nothing! If you get called up onto that stage you _cannot be wearing a top hat_!" Dani scolded. Elliot sighed.

"Hey, what happens if one of us gets reaped, anyway? We're both in six times."

"I'm in seven times." Dani muttered. "Tesserae, remember?"

"Right, right."

"And, anyway, considering being reaped as an option only opens being reaped as an option." Dani said. Elliot frowned slightly.

"Okay, well, whatever happens, if you get reaped, I'll volunteer." He said. Dani slapped his arm.

"Uh, no you won't."

"Why not?"

"Because that's a really dumb idea! Elliot, can you imagine being in the Hunger Games?"

"Oh, come on. I wouldn't die straight away." He defended. Dani gave him a look.

"Whatever you say, El." They lined up for registration and split off. "See you."

* * *

Dani opted to stand in the middle of her age group, as though being invisible from the stage would save her name from being pulled out. But watching as her representative reached into the girl's ball and dug around for that unlucky person's piece of paper, Dani got a sick feeling in her stomach that wouldn't go away.

"_Oh no,_" she thought, seeing the name being retrieved from the collection. "_Oh no it's me._" Dani spent the second and a half between this revelation and the representative's announcement telling herself that she was just being silly and paranoid.

"The female Tribute is… Danielle Taylor!" The representative smiled brightly.

"Shit." Dani hissed. She was pushed forward roughly and barely managed to not trip over her feet as she walked through the crowd to the steps. She gained her balance right as she became exposed and inwardly thanked Elliot for making sure she knew how to run in heels, walking up those stairs in flats was going to be a breeze because of it. Needless to say, she got to the top of the stairs and stood next to the representative.

"And how old are you, Danielle?" She asked. Dani looked out over the crowd for a moment before she answered.

"Uh, it's Dani. I'm seventeen." She wondered for a second if maybe her parents were watching but she knew they wouldn't care _even_ if she was going to die. She stood and watched, sort of nervously fidgeting with her hands behind her back. She was unwavering that she wouldn't let it hit her while she was on camera. Doing that would only make things worse. Instead she searched for Elliot in the crowd. It wasn't too hard to find him, not many people were going to sparkle, after all. They locked eyes and she shook her head. He glared back and nodded. She checked to make sure that the representative was still digging through the ball of names before she looked back at Elliot and shook her head again, mouthing "No." clearly enough. She could tell, even from this distance, that his jaw was set out and his eyes were wide in earnest as he shook his head again. In a final attempt to get him to _not_ be an idiot she gave him her best evil eye, but he wasn't having any of it. She couldn't really do anything else to him about it and she knew that, so she ended up sighing and clasping her hands together in front of her instead of behind. When the representative asked for volunteers, Dani looked up and prayed that he wouldn't _actually_ volunteer.

Today obviously wasn't her lucky day.

"I volunteer as Tribute." Elliot shouted. Dani resisted the urge to face palm and pinch the bridge of her nose simultaneously as she watched him stride to the stage. He introduced himself as Elliot Gilbert, and Dani allowed herself to be thankful that he didn't say 'Starchild'. When they went to shake hands she tugged on his wrist and pulled him into a hug.

"You're an idiot." She murmured into his ear. He chuckled nervously and hugged her back before they moved off the stage.

* * *

Dani didn't bother standing when she got into her room. She knew her parents weren't going to come in. She hadn't seen them in just under a year, and they had been the ones to throw her out. Yeah, there was no chance of her seeing them again. Not now, at least. So when the peacekeeper left the room she sat down crossed legged and put her face in her hands. She'd put so much effort into making it without her family. _So_ much effort. Sure, she was only a plumber but she was a _good_ plumber. She was on the fast track to electric maintenance. Or she had been, at least. At that thought she lifted her head out of her hands and started to laugh.

"Oh man," she chuckled, "I'm so screwed. I can't fight for shit." Her heart skipped a beat for a moment, but she kept laughing. "All that work on surviving and I'm _still_ going to die before I turn eighteen. That's so lame." She hesitated. She didn't actually have to die before she turned eighteen. Her birthday was only a couple of weeks away, and she had five more days before she could even be _injured._ And then after that there could only be… She counted on her fingers. Twelve days. So about two weeks. Games had lasted for months before, she could do this. Dani nodded to herself and got to her feet.

"Heck yeah, I want to turn eighteen. I'll show my parents. I'll show those dickheads at school. I'll even show whoever the Careers are this year. I can _do_ this." She beamed. Her smile faltered slightly at the thought of having to live in the Arena for twelve days before finally celebrating her eighteenth birthday while probably starving, but she sure as shit didn't plan on dying until at _least_ the day after. Who knows, maybe she could even share the day with Elliot. That'd be so cool. When she was pushed into the car with Elliot, she told him about her plan. He only chuckled and shook his head at her.

"Whatever you say, Dan."

"Hey, I saved you from the top hat. You should be kissing the dirt beneath my feet." Dani said. He laughed at that.

"Like I said, whatever you say."

* * *

They were introduced to their mentor, Adam Crawford. He was nice enough, in Dani's opinion. He was quite chilled, surprisingly young and incredibly charismatic.

"Danielle-"

"Dani." Elliot and Dani both corrected.

"Right, sorry. Dani, you look like you don't want to be in that dress, and Elliot I'm sure you can find something more comfortable to wear."

"I designed and sewed this myself. No offence, but it's the _height _of comfort for me." Elliot took a breath in and Dani took the opportunity to tug on his arm.

"El, he means that you need to get changed so we can watch the Reaping's without being distracted by your impeccable style." She bit her lip and added another comment, against her better judgement. "You'll have plenty of time to look like a badass between now and the Games."

"I can look like a badass in the Games." He responded.

"No, in the Games you're going to have to _be_ a badass, now come on so we can get changed." She looked back at Adam. "Where are our rooms?"

"Down the hall, go to the end. Yours is on the left, Elliot's on the right." He smiled. Dani dragged Elliot through the door before she let go of his sleeve.

"He's pretty… Perky." Dani commented.

"At least he's still living." Elliot answered. Dani nodded in agreement before ducking into her room. About ten minutes later the pair were changed and went back to the main carriage together to watch the Reapings.

* * *

Bree was waiting for Brody outside of his house when he moved onto the street.

"Bree." He grunted.

"Brody." She deadpanned back. She handed him the coffee he always wanted in the morning and he looked around.

"Is Cassie late again?"

"Well I'm not seeing her."

"Today though, really?" He said, sipping his drink. Bree folded her arms and rolled her eyes.

"Look, I don't even get why we have to wait for her today. The balls are rigged, she's our mentor, and the plan is fool proof. It doesn't matter whether she shows up in a drunken stupor half way through the Reaping, what matters is that _we_ make it there on time."

"How do you even feel about this, B?" Brody said. She frowned at him.

"District 3 breaking through the Careers barrier or whatever it was that Cassie was wailing about. How do you feel about being chosen?" he asked, taking another swig of his coffee. Bree shrugged.

"Honestly I don't understand why she cares so much. All I know is that she chose me for whatever reason and that is… An honour. But we should let Crazy July have her fun. After being the biggest train wreck of any Victor from this District, it'll either be her come back, or the biggest flop in the history of the Hunger Games, which would be _hilarious_." Bree said. Brody lifted his eyebrows at her over his mug and shrugged.

"Hilarious as it would be, we would die." He commented.

"I've already got your death on my personal list of Games highlights, Donkey Face." Bree muttered.

* * *

Cassie arrived eventually, uncharacteristically sober. She sent the kids off to the Reaping, asking why they hadn't left already. Brody sidled in with the other eighteen year old boys and Bree took her place among the fifteen year olds of the opposing gender. The pair watched the representative give the same boring speech and play the same boring movie and Bree was just about to make some snarky comment under her breath about dying of boredom before she could even be reaped, when she was, finally, reaped.

"Took your time." She muttered, strutting onto the stage. Brody was reaped a few seconds later and they nodded at each other as the representative finished reeling off the same speech finishing with the 'timeless' closer quote, "And may the odds be ever in your favour." Brody and Bree were then whisked through the Justice Building in no time and soon found themselves on the train with Cassandra July.

"Good work, kids, phase one of the plan is complete. But we might be running into some trouble with the other Tributes."

"What's that?" Brody asked.

"I checked up on the polls in the Capitol, apparently 'everyone with half a brain' is betting on Quinn Fabray. Her profile is impressive, I'll admit, but that just means you'll have to crush her as soon as possible." Cassie said. The three stood in silence for a moment before she waved them away lazily.

"Why are you still in my sight, go get changed so we can size up the other losers."

* * *

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Kurt had been having a bad day. For one, at the ripe young age of sixteen he had been chosen to be killed for some people with the fashion sense of a slow two year old's twisted play on a reality TV show. Which he wasn't _exactly_ happy about, no. That was really the biggest fly in the ointment for him, but it would've been slightly better if his reaping partner had not been one of _the most_ melodramatic people he knew from school. And this was Kurt talking; he _knew _he could be a drama queen at times, but this girl? Tina Cohen-Chang was worse than he was, which would drive any sane person mad. And Kurt was just sane enough for Tina to have affect on his mind. He resented that deeply. He was consoling himself with the harsh truth that he would die in the Bloodbath and that would at least keep him from having to witness whatever antics his fellow District 8 Tribute would be getting up to in the Hunger Games. It was a backhanded warm feeling that the thought gave him, but a warm feeling nonetheless. Kurt had at least been blessed with a stable and intelligent mentor who he got along with well enough. Actually, he was kidding himself if he was going to say that. He got along with Isabelle Wright like a house on fire. They'd been chatting while Tina got changed, _boy_ did she take her time, and they'd spoken about everything from strategy to the awful pattern of the representative's dress. Eventually Tina came back and Isabelle greeted her brightly.

"Hey, Tina! Come take a seat, we can watch the Reapings together." She patted the seat next to her. Kurt payed enough attention, or as much as he thought he needed to. That is, until it got to District 10. There was just something about the boy, the way his hair was probably hard as a rock it had so much gel in it, how he bit his lip to hold back tears. How desperate the look in his dark eyes were.

"Blaine Anderson…" Kurt mumbled. "He looks smart and determined and… _Strong._"

"Then you'd better ally up with him quickly." Isabelle chuckled. Kurt only nodded in response. Meanwhile, on another train headed towards the Capitol, Blaine Anderson was watching the same thing Kurt was, only a few minutes behind.

"Kurt Hummel."

"Blaine, get your head out of your pants."

"No, _no._ Unique, look at how he's standing. He's not afraid. He's taking the news head-on and he's not going to let anything get in his way. I can tell. He's resilient."

"Perhaps, Blaine, it would be a good idea for you to form an alliance with him. Maybe you can talk to him during the three days of training before the Games." Blaine's mentor, Emma Pillsbury, said, watching him carefully. He nodded in response.

"That's a good idea, Miss P."


	3. To The Trains

**A/N: Another great response, thank you guys!**

* * *

**Chapter Three: To The Trains**

On opposite sides of District 12, two teenagers with very much – and yet, very little – in common were getting ready for their final Reaping. Finn Hudson was from the higher end of town, where the richer kids lived. This wasn't supposed to fool anyone, though. Finn was the poorest of all living in the area; one of the few kids who worked, and certainly the only one who had to work in the mines. Everyday, except for today of course, he had to get up before dawn so that he could go and work, to pay for the rent of the house he was living in with his mother. His mother worked as well, and she had a respectable job. Not enough for everything, but enough for everything minus the rent. But that day both he and his mother weren't working, so he could be ready for his last 'big day'. His suit had belonged to his father, who had died a long time previously. Long before Finn could remember, to say the least. He was lucky that he and his father shared their height, because both Finn and his mother were very aware that if they had needed to buy Finn a suit it would've needed to be hand tailored, and they really couldn't afford that. But, all in all, Finn looked very nice, very respectable and certainly presentable.

* * *

Rachel Berry lived in the Seam. Well, she called it living, but many, _many_ people would've questioned her use of the word, on the basis of her not really having experienced how it was to live, rather than survive as she did. She had grown up with two fathers, and when she was quite young one of them had fallen ill. So ill, that he could not be left unattended. So during the day Rachel's fathers stayed at home, one tending to the other, and she had to go out and find ways for them to have food. Their small house was so dilapidated that it hadn't taken much money for them to simply buy the property, so at least they didn't have shelter to worry about. Rachel instead had to find money, food and occasionally medicine for her fathers. When she started, she would beg on the street in the nicer parts of District 12. That was when she was still small enough to get the pity of random passers-by. Eventually she realised that she was going to have to either steal or hunt to get what she needed. She only ever stole from houses that she knew were empty and were far enough away from the Berry household that no fingers would be pointed at them. Hunting was a bit harder for her, though. With no one to teach her, all she had to go on was raw instinct and natural ingenuity. Luckily, she was chock-full of both these things. She knew where the hole in the fence was for her to duck through to get to the forest without being noticed, which she saw as a good start. She learnt what different game's footprints looked like, how to tell which way her scent would flow, how to scare animals into a bad situation. The day when she chose to sit down and make a net to catch fish in, that was her first real breakthrough. From there, there was no stopping the young girl. Since her tenth birthday, Rachel Berry had been supporting her two fathers, attending school and learning how to survive. She only wished that she wouldn't need to know so badly.

* * *

Finn was a big guy. He was tall, and strong, and fast. He'd been caught in enough fights to know how to defend himself, but even he knew that he wasn't exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer. Even so, he worked hard and consistently, so that didn't really matter to him. He was a little bit clumsy, and known for being less subtle and more… Crude. He didn't mean to be, he kind of just was. But he liked to help people when he could, and even if it was being the person who anonymously supplied the mysterious Rachel Berry with food every day they had school, he was up for it. He was a good guy. He had his priorities straight and his intentions were in the right place. But really the biggest thing he had going for him was his sheer physical prowess. He could swing a bat or a club and lift heavy things, and run fast, and swim quite well. He was a pro-active guy.

* * *

Rachel had her name in the Reaping ball 24 times. She'd being lying if she said she wasn't scared shitless, but she was also really great at lying. She didn't like to call it lying, though. She liked to think of it as just being someone else, to achieve her desired goal. Rachel was genuine, though. If anyone had taken the liberty to get to know her they would've come to understand very quickly that she was a really nice girl. She had just been forced onto a different route to everyone else. And the route wasn't one that just anyone could take, and she counted herself lucky for being blessed with the basic requirements to get by on the road less travelled. So, though she wore a tough exterior that she could shape to her will, she was still a girl, which – to her – meant that she was allowed to get _really_ excited when she got the opportunity to wear a nice outfit and look pretty, even it was for the most dismal event of the year. Wearing the off-white blouse and neat black skirt made her excited. Maybe even a little bit normal. But no one could really look forward to attending a Reaping.

* * *

Finn and Rachel both stood at the front of their age groups, at the front of the crowd. They liked to watch. Rachel's height made it almost necessity for her to be at the front if she wanted to have a good view, but Finn didn't have to worry about that. He liked to stand at the front because he knew the others didn't like to watch that much, so he considered it to be a favour to the people standing behind him. The representative walked out onto the stage and beamed out at the audience.

"Hello, District 12!" she smiled brightly, showing off her white teeth. Rachel couldn't help but shudder at the sight of it. The representative reeled off her usual speech before she, as usual, pulled out a girl's name.

"Rachel Berry." She smiled. Rachel looked up at her, for a small moment allowing herself to be vulnerable.

"_No, that can't be right,"_ she thought. "_There must be some mistake. I can't be reaped._" But Rachel stepped forward anyway, accepting her fate. In the few seconds it took her to reach the stairs she had already decided to fall back onto on of her favourite characters. This Rachel was confident, intelligent and steadfast. She stood tall on the stage and waited for the boy to be chosen.

"Finn Hudson." Finn walked towards the stage slowly, subconsciously wiping his sweaty palms on his pants.

"_Come on Finn, don't trip on the stairs._" He thought. It would have seemed that given his _very_ recent bout of _very _bad luck, the stars had decided to align back in his favour. He made it up the stairs with no trouble. They both answered that they were eighteen and shook hands, before they went to the Justice Building. Rachel spoke to her father, the one who was well enough to come and see her, and he gave her a bracelet, claiming that he'd been saving it for after her final Reaping. It was a simple silver chain, with a gold star hanging from it.

"I promise I'll take good care of it, daddy." She said, hugging her father one final time. She swallowed her tears, though. She couldn't afford to cry.

* * *

Finn was also giving a farewell to one of his parents. His did involve crying though. He hugged his mum and begged that she keep working and for her to stay strong because she had to do it for both of them now, Finn and his dad. When she was taken away Finn stopped crying immediately, but he wasn't sure how he did it. When Rachel and Finn were in the car together, he tried to make a conversation, only to get shot down immediately.

"I'd rather not talk right now." Was all she would say. After meeting their mentor, Will Schuester, Rachel went to her room and stayed there until she had to come back to watch the Reapings. When Will suggested that they talk strategy she ignored him completely, too wrapped up in her own thoughts to even consider an extra point of view.

"Finn was thinking you two could have an alliance." Will tried.

"No." Rachel answered, her words lacking venom. In the end, the only thing that drew her out of her trance was the sound of Quinn Fabray volunteering as Tribute.

"You have to watch out for the Careers, they spend their entire lives training for their Games, you'll never be able to find a more efficient hunter…" Rachel was vaguely aware that Will hadn't stopped talking, but she was stuck on this girl with hazel eyes and golden hair, with a laugh that sounds like leaves falling in a breeze.

"She's-" Rachel whispered.

"Gorgeous." Quinn breathed, watching the girl from 12 stand tall and fearless while she stared death in the face.

* * *

Immediately after the re-watch of the Reapings, Quinn retreated into her room. She wanted to get changed, and she needed a moment or two to breathe. She had a small vanity table on one side of the room, which she sat at. There was a brush on the table, so she grabbed it and brushed her hair while she thought semi-aloud. She was at a loss, feeling… Well, _feeling._ That was the beginning and end of her problem. She hadn't been provoked, or even baited. Yet she was curious about her fellow Tributes and was unsettled by the realisation that she was genuinely considering speaking with a few of them in the Training sessions. And it wasn't just the people from District 2 and 4, which _really_ confused her. She had to say; she was probably _least_ interested in the Tributes from District 2. Which was a strange reaction, because she had been told many times over that she should build the strongest allegiance to them. And that she should stay away from the double digit Districts.

Yet there she sat, contemplating an alliance with the short girl from District 12.

Quinn brushed the thought away and sighed. The Games had barely started and she had already been presented with more than a few things that threw her more than she liked to admit.

"Come on Q," she mumbled, pressing her fingers to her temples. "Get it together."

* * *

A few hours later, Dani and Elliot were sitting and eating dinner.

"Elliot, I'm going to try and see if I can have a word with your stylist about letting you have some freedom with your Chariot Ride costume." Adam said between bites. Elliot dropped his cutlery.

"Are you serious?"

"Mmhm." Adam nodded.

"Can I design Dani's as well?" he practically begged. Adam chuckled and nodded.

"You two need to match, don't you?" Elliot turned in his seat to face Dani.

"This is going to be awesome, Dan, I've already got an idea." He said. Dani couldn't help but grin. She knew that if Elliot was put in charge of their outfits they would look _awesome_. Not to mention, he already knew Dani's measurements off by heart, and what styles suited her. And he almost always went over the top, so they would look perfect in the Chariot Rides.

"_Badass_." She smirked. Though, of course, some people weren't having as good a dinner as these two. At the same time that conversation was taking place, Santana and Puck were having an arm wrestle. Much to the dismay of their representative.

"Noah, I demand you stop that immediately!" he almost shouted. He and Santana were dead set even, but if Puck won food was going to go _everywhere._

"Not until Lopez gives in."

"Not going to happen." Santana grunted back.

"Holly, make them stop! This etiquette is improper and needs to be corrected before they get to the Capitol!" The representative shrieked. He wasn't going to get anywhere, because Holly was currently laughing so hard her sides were aching. And this wasn't the only mentor laughing at the time.

"You're kidding!" Kurt exclaimed. Isabelle shook her head as she swallowed her food.

"No, I'm dead serious. There I was, sitting on the rafters of my brother's bedroom, watching as he fell right into the prank."

"Oh my goodness! Did he find you?"

"Not until two days later. I sat up there until I was certain he'd left the house before I even considered moving. And when I did I was taking the bare essentials onto the _roof._"

"Did he find you or?" Kurt prompted.

"I went inside to make a sandwich and he ambushed me in the kitchen."

"No, I don't believe you, you have to be joking now."

"I swear on my life!"

* * *

The next morning, Brody and Bree were sitting by the window as they waited to get that first glimpse of the Capitol. They'd been assured that it was spectacular. Brody, for one, thought it was actually pretty awesome. Bree wasn't so impressed.

"It's the big city, though!"

"So what? Some tall buildings, some people with dumb coloured hair, some trains. That's so fascinating."

"Well," He sipped his fresh coffee. "I hope someone's enjoying it."

"They'd had to have been living in the wilderness for _this_ to be exciting." Bree muttered.

"It's beautiful." Rachel gazed out the window, awe-stricken. Finn chuckled beside her.

"You don't get out much, do you?"

"I'll have you know, our District doesn't have _anything_ like this, so you should shut your mouth."

"Okay." Finn gave a goofy smile to the crowd waiting for them outside. "Are you excited for tonight?" He asked. She shook her head.

"Are you?" she frowned at him.

"Uh, no, no of course not, I just thought you'd like it to get all dressed up and stuff." He said, looking at his feet. She arched an eyebrow at him.

"Yes I'm sure I'm looking forward to having soot thrown in my face."

"They might do something different this year!"

"I doubt it." Rachel mumbled.

* * *

Elliot stood in his dressing room, waiting for his stylist.

"I'm Tierey, your stylist." A man said, walking into the dressing room. "I've been told that you have some ideas for your outfit."

"Yeah!" Elliot lit up, "I actually have-"

"No, what you have is exactly five minutes to pitch your idea to me before I decide whether it's a go or not. That's for your outfit and your District's partner's, too. Go." Elliot blinked at him before jumping into action, not wanting to waste a second.

"Okay, so the suit I was wearing at the Reaping, I want to wear that again. The same cut, style and line, but instead of the fabric I had, I want it to be black velvet, the darkest thing you can find. Instead of it sparkling in the right light, I want it to glow green. Like, nuclear green. Not like, the fabric turns green, but the suit sort of… Radiates it. The sparkles will stay, only brighter, like electricity. The pants should stay the same, because that way they can't take away from the jacket. The shoes should be platform, so I can look taller, stronger. The soles should have the same sparkle-glow to them. I want fingerless leather gloves, sparkling but not glowing."

"Three and a half minutes left."

"I have the goggles as well, only over my eyes instead of around my neck, and the area around my eyes are sooty, like we've been working. My hair will stand up, but when we go out you won't be able to tell because I'll have a top hat. The top hat will be grey, but it has a lightening bolt glowing on the side." Elliot was talking so quickly Tierey could barely keep up, but he was slowly grasping that Elliot was determined to have this. And he was following Elliot's designs, building them in his head and smiling slightly. "But, halfway through the ride I'll toss the hat into the crowd and my hair will have a glowing stripe up the side and the top half centimetre will be green, and shining."

"Anything else for your costume?" Tierey asked. Elliot shook his head as he moved onto Dani's dress.

"Long, flowing dress, made out of the same fabric, one shoulder. Her shoes are heels, tall heels, the same black, but instead of the body of the shoe glowing, the heel will be in the shape of a lightening bolt, glowing brightly. She'll have matching earrings, and the same goggles. Rather than a hat, she'll have a… A tiara of the little miniature glowing lightening bolts."

"And her hair?"

"I haven't thought of anything for her hair. I'd like it out, if possible. Do you have any ideas?" Elliot asked, taking a deep breath. Tierey clicked his tongue.

"I have to say…" He smiled slightly. "Your vision is epic. I think we can take this Chariot Ride."

"Wait, really?" Elliot asked.

"Uh huh." The stylist nodded. "I can even sort out Danielle's-"

"Dani."

"Her hair."

"So, we're keeping my design?" Elliot asked.

"We sure are, kiddo."


	4. Time For Play Is Over

**A/N: Thank you again guys, seeing that people are actually looking at this is really reassuring! **

* * *

**Chapter Four: Time For Play Is Over**

Dani had to give Elliot credit, she looked _awesome._ She never doubted that she would look great under his care, but she hadn't realised that Elliot probably spent hours on the perfect Chariot Ride outfits for each District. Her hair had ended up being tousled perfectly, and she loved every stitch of her dress. When she was finally guided out to the hall where they get onto the Chariots, she found that most of the other Districts were already waiting to go. She had just climbed onto the Chariot for District 5 when Elliot appeared beside her.

"What do you think?"

"We look friggin' bad_ass._"

"Thanks."

"The vest really completes it." Dani smirked.

"Thank you." He chuckled.

"What do you think of the other Districts?" She asked. He looked around.

"Well, District 1 will be a tough act to follow." He wasn't exaggerating. Quinn and Jesse were wearing white suits that were _completely_ covered in precious gems and stones. Every time either one of them shifted, they lit up. Under flash photography, they would look spectacular. He kept looking around.

"Check out District 12." He said, pointing. Dani looked and saw the couple standing in their Chariot. Rachel had her arms folded and she was leaning on the railing of the Chariot, looking towards the higher Districts. Finn was standing beside her, looking very awkward as he was trying and failing to start a conversation. He was wearing a typical miner's uniform, without the pickaxe and hard hat. His face and arms were _completely_ covered in soot, and honestly looked very ordinary. Rachel was dressed almost identically.

"Why am I looking at them?" Dani asked. "I'd rather look at District 7, to be honest." She said, nodding towards the pair dressed as trees. She kept watching them for a moment before Elliot waved his hand in front of her face.

"You think she's pretty." He said.

"Hey, if she can pull off the tree look that well, then I'm going to have no shame in looking at her." Dani shrugged.

"Well try not to drool, we're about to go." Elliot said, grabbing onto the railing.

* * *

"Cheer up, Q." Jesse smiled. Quinn rolled her eyes.

"I would, if I could look at you without being _blinded_."

"Your heels look lovely." He smiled again.

"You're going to have to try harder if you want to smooth talk the other Careers." She said, drily.

"Just because you think you can see right through me-"

"I don't think. I can."

"Then what do you propose?" Jesse asked, immediately regretting asking the blonde for her opinion.

"I _propose_ that you stop schmoozing and start charming. I _propose_ that you get that shit-eating grin off your face, and I _propose_ that you stop trying your low-brow moves on _me._" Quinn muttered. Jesse shrugged.

"Are any of the other Districts catching your eye?" he asked, moments later.

"Are you kidding? Some genius must've dressed District 5, they look Chariot ready but also _unembarrassing._ Whoever their stylist is, I want them." Quinn scowled. She noticed the girl from District 5 looking over so she quickly looked away. Her gaze fell onto the Tributes of District 12.

"Something's up." She grunted. Jesse looked over her shoulder and frowned.

"What do you mean? They're just dressed like miners."

"And since when is anything about the Chariot Rides _just._" Quinn drawled. Jesse hesitated before he replied.

"They can't take the show from us."

"They can, Jesse. All we do is sparkle. We don't glow, or have a theme. Look," She nodded at District 5 again. "They match. So do we, but they enjoy each others company as well, obviously. They have a great stage dynamic. We have a great one too, but it's fake. They have a rise on us. They're genuine." She nodded at District 3. "They're going to cause us some trouble. The boy looks like easy work, but I can't trust the girl half as far as I could throw her, and I've barely seen her working." She gestured back towards District 12. "He has the ultimate boy next door vibe. Goofy, friendly, nice. She's the perfect actress. And they have something we don't have."

"What's that?"

"A surprise." Quinn answered, gritting her teeth.

* * *

"I hate this already."

"Aw, don't be like that. You're a cute light bulb." Brody smirked.

"Your costume doesn't hide your balls, Weston. Don't tempt me." Bree snapped. Brody shifted and scowled at District 1.

"They're going to look so much better than us under the lights."

"We _are_ the lights." Bree hissed. "Brody, _everyone_ looks better than us, I mean," She nodded at District 7, "They're _trees_ and they look better than us. Our sorry excuses of outfits are nothing more than glorified lanterns."

"Well, they are nice trees, you have to give them that." Brody mentioned. Upon receiving a withering glare from Bree, he shut up. He looked a few chariots down and noticed District 8's Tributes having an argument.

"Just because you wore monstrosities like this every day does _not_ mean I will enjoy wearing a suit entirely built of _bows_, Tina! Stop trying to fix my hair! It's bad enough as it is!"

"I just want it to stick up a little less and-"

"It's like that on purpose Tina, that's how the Stylist wanted it, now _stop touching my hair!"_

"At least you look better than me." A warm voice sounded behind them. Kurt looked over his shoulder to see Blaine smiling up at him. Blaine was wearing a cowboy's outfit, covered in sequins. Kurt laughed.

"That's debatable, though admittedly I don't sparkle like a bad party threw up on me." He said. Blaine made a face.

"I know, it's hideous. Please don't remind me." Blaine groaned, pulling on the sequined tassels of his cowboy outfit.

"Hey, at least it'll be over soon." Kurt said, his tone consoling. Blaine tilted his head.

"You mean the Rides, or my life?"

"I was referring to the Rides, but you can interpret it however you find it the most reassuring." There was a shout for Blaine to 'get on his chariot already' and they both looked over.

"I think they're playing your song." Kurt said. Blaine was still looking over when he answered.

"It looks like they are. I will see _you_," Blaine patted Kurt's hand, "Tomorrow. It was nice to meet you, Kurt Hummel." He smiled and walked off. Tina grabbed Kurt's shoulder and forced him to face the front.

"Big smiles!" She chimed. Kurt let out a breath and put on his best smile. In that suit, he was going to need it.

* * *

Quinn and Jesse erupted into the streets at the front of the parade to louder cheering than either of them had ever experienced. Neither of them let that show as they stood tall and waved, Jesse smiling brightly and Quinn smirking, while they chatted to each other through their teeth.

"I hate them all."

"Already, Q?"

"I can't wait till the Games start, to whatever end." She snapped. Two Chariots behind them were Bree and Brody, neither having half as good a time as Quinn.

"We look like idiots and no one's cheering for us." Bree muttered. She had one hand on her hip and she was waving lazily with the other one, doing her best to smile through her bored expression. Brody was smiling and winking at people in the crowd, having chosen to ignore Bree as best he could. However, two more Chariots back, there were a pair having a genuinely good time.

"Do I throw the hat yet?" Elliot asked, waving and smiling brightly, taking in every cheer, shout and call.

"No!" Dani answered. "Wait for my count!" She answered, getting an idea. "Wait for it," she started. Elliot held his free hand just by his hat to be ready. "Waaaait for-" Dani twisted and grabbed the hat as she took her tiara off and placed it on his head. She pulled the hat on, winked at a group of people from the Capitol and laughed when they laughed with her.

"What are you doing!?" He yelled over the cheering, laughing despite himself. She tossed the hat into the crowd before she answered.

"I'm going to die anyway, El, I might as well enjoy this." She said, becoming more solemn. Elliot's smile faltered.

"Here," He put the tiara back onto her head. "Now smile, princess." He said. Dani beamed at him and they went back to waving to the crowd together.

* * *

"This is worse than the suit." Puck glowered. He refused to do anything other than fold his arms and scowl when the District 7 Chariot burst into the parade. Santana was also scowling, but at least she was looking at the crowds a little bit. Not that either of them had any of the Capitol's attention.

"There is _no thing_ worse than this, Puckerman. Stop trying to think up an appropriate comparison, I cant afford to have your pea-brain fry before the Games start."

"Is it just me or was that insult weaker than usual?" Puck teased.

"Puck, I swear, I am dressed like a fucking palm tree, _and_ I'm going to die. I think you should have better priorities than making sure my tongue is still sharp as a razor."

"I'd shove you if I was allowed."

"Are you kidding? If you nudged me I'd topple before I knew it, this fucking outfit's weight distribution is so whacked out."

"You're just disappointed that the pretty blonde girl from 5 won't notice you in this." Puck teased further.

"Like you aren't pissed for the same reason but with a different blonde." Santana commented.

"What is _that_ supposed to mean, Lopez?"

"Oh, like I haven't seen you staring at that Quinn chick." Santana grumbled.

"Alright then, I have a challenge for you." Puck watched as Santana's eyebrow arched.

"What kind of challenge?" She said.

"Arm wrestle. Loser has to talk to their respective hot blonde." He said. Santana bit her lip.

"You're _on_, Puckerman."

* * *

"Are you okay, Rachel?" Finn asked, as they watched the first District getting ready to kick off the parade.

"I'm not comfortable with… The creative direction of our head stylist." She answered, watching Quinn and Jesse roll out of the room.

"What's wrong with it? It's awesome! Our costumes are going to be _on fire_, Rachel!"

"Yes, exactly! What if it goes wrong?" She snapped.

"It won't though, he said that it was safe!"

"But what if it _isn't_, Finn!" She hissed. "Fire is dangerous! Have you ever been caught in a fire?"

"Uh, no, but-"

"Well, frankly, if I can avoid being near fire ever again I will, can you accept that I'm not comfortable and back off!?" Rachel released a cleansing breath before she continued. "I'm sorry I snapped at you. I'm just feeling uneasy about this. So much is riding on it."

"Well, if you just calm down a bit I'm sure it'll all be fine." Finn reassured, as their Chariot started to move. Finn got ready to wave and noticed Rachel take another deep breath before she relaxed into a cold smirk.

"_How does she _do _that?_" Finn thought. Their ride wasn't exactly a hit. Their costumes malfunctioned, and instead of having their costumes light up with fire, they sparked and crackled. Finn was surprised that Rachel didn't attempt to run off the Chariot when it happened, but even more surprised when she acted as though that was exactly what was meant to be happening. Finn decided then that he was kind of frightened by her.

* * *

The next morning Santana was awake too early for her own good. When she woke up it was only five in the morning, and she wasn't due in the Training Centre for five hours. She had a shower, carefully chose out her clothes for the day and messed around a bit with the range of themes she could have her walls set to. This ate up about forty-five minutes. When she finally exited her room due to a near fatal case of boredom, she found the dining table already completely laden with food. She sat down tentatively and served herself some toast. She was marginally pissed off on top of her general I'm-going-to-die-who-gives-a-shit attitude. She'd lost the arm wrestle with Puck the previous night and was now stuck with having to talk to Dani, which she was _definitely_ more scared of doing than was really reasonable. Under the circumstances, in any case. A few minutes later she was done eating and was once again left with nothing to do. She collapsed onto the couch and checked the time. Still four hours to kill. She sighed and got to her feet. It couldn't hurt her to take a peek at the Training Centre before she was strictly supposed to. So she hopped into the lift and took it down to the underground floor. The doors were already open, much to her surprise. She wandered in, looking around and being careful to walk quietly. As she looked around the room, her eyes fell onto the person who had evidently opened the door. Without a word or a sound, Santana walked over and stood beside the girl, who was observing the range of weapons available to spar with, almost adding to the stillness of the room with her completely lack of movement. Santana nearly jumped when she spoke a few minutes later.

"What brings you down here so early?"

"Couldn't sleep." Santana murmured, not looking over at her companion. She wasn't one to be made a fool, so she wasn't going to give anything away. "You?"

"The same." Was all she got in reply. They stood together in a strangely comfortable silence until the clock above the entrance tolled seven times.

"It's playing your song."

"Huh?" Santana grunted in confusion.

"You're Santana, aren't you? From District 7?" the girl said.

"My reputation precedes me, as usual." Santana smirked. "Aren't you Dani-"

"It's just Dani." She interrupted. Santana knocked their shoulders together.

"If you had let me finish, I was going to say, 'aren't you Dani? You rocked that dress last night.'"

"I… What?" Dani said, looking at Santana. "Oh, wait, are you hitting on me?"

"What? No! That would be stupid!"

"That doesn't _sound_ like you believe it." Dani grinned. "Besides, I'm not even gay."

"You aren't?" Santana's eyebrows lifted considerably. "But I thought that, I mean, it's not like you give off the vibe or anything-"

"Oh calm down. I am, but it doesn't matter either way. Not anymore." Dani said. Santana halted and gazed at her.

"Why shouldn't it matter?" She finally answered. Dani frowned at her.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, like you said. We're going to die." Santana looked at the floor as she spoke. "Why can't we enjoy the time we have left? Sure, I'm going to fight for my life, but…" Her line of sight shifted to the rack of different sized swords in front of the pair. "It doesn't mean I can't live while I'm fighting." She finally looked back at Dani. "Right?" Dani never answered. They both ended up looking back at the weapons, standing in their comfortable silence. Only now Dani was biting her bottom lip softly, and her brow was furrowed as her mind turned at a spectacular rate.

_"Is that okay?"_ She thought. _"Is it worth even bothering?"_ She spared Santana a sideways glance and allowed the side of her lip to curl into a small smile. Maybe it was worth it.

* * *

Quinn sighed at the ceiling of her room. Day One of Training, a crucial point in her journey to the Games, much like ever other event in the week prior to the start of the Hunger Games. Even her entrance was scripted, for god's sake. Tempted as she was to simply bypass the entire thing and do what she wanted to do, she wasn't really sure what that was. So once again she found herself stuck in a net of other people's wishes for her. In a fit of defiance she blindly reached out to her bedside table, grabbed whatever she could get her fingers around and threw it angrily at her wall. The lamp splintered upon contact with the wall and Quinn released another frustrated sigh and sat up to inspect the damage. The lamp was definitely broken beyond repair, for which Quinn was grateful. She should be strong enough to destroy casual household items by throwing them at walls by now. But she lacked the satisfaction she had been hoping for. She reached out to her bedside table again, getting ready to throw.

* * *

By the time Sue got around to making sure Quinn was awake and dressed, Quinn had demolished her lamp, her clock, the remote that controlled her wall theme, the remote to call the avox's with, and the complimentary electronic guide to help her through her stay in the Capitol.

"Are you quite finished?" Sue spat. Quinn, still lying on her bed, turned her head to glare at her mentor.

"I don't have anything left to break."

"Save it for the training centre, Q. Scare the pants off of those kids."

"How long until show time?" Quinn asked.

"Training was scheduled to start twenty minutes ago. You should eat something quickly and head on down." Sue watched Quinn roll off the bed and get to her feet. "Do you remember your lines?" Sue asked. Quinn shrugged past her and answered as she picked two apples up off of the dining table.

"As if I could forget them." Quinn took a vicious bite out of the apple in her left hand and pegged the one in her right at the wall beside Sue's head. Sue only folded her arms in response.

"Get moving, kiddo. Use your energy on the knives." Sue deadpanned. Quinn could only provide a scowl as she stormed out, tossing her half eaten apple over her shoulder as she exited the apartment.

* * *

"God, why can't we just get started already?" Bree snapped. The 23 Tributes were standing in a semi-circle, facing the head supervisor of their Training for the next three days, and away from the door. All of them, including the Career Tributes that were present, were itching to go. The Tributes from lower Districts wanted to get moving so they could use the time they had as best they could. The Upper Districts wanted to get to the fun part. All except for Jesse and Rachel were at the point of vowing to kill Quinn Fabray the moment the Games started, though each and every one of them had accompanied the original thought with one outlining how _really awful_ that idea probably was.

"We have to wait for everyone to get here before we can start."

"I'd hate for you all to be held up on my part." Quinn's voice practically danced around the giant room, as if she'd known the perfect spot to stand for the best acoustics.

"So the queen finally made it!" Santana exclaimed, twisting to look at Quinn, along with the rest of the Tributes. Quinn's face was completely blank as she looked over at Santana. Everyone watched on as the pair of girls had a silent face off. Santana folded her arms and shifted.

"I don't know about you, princess, but where I come from _no one_ stares down Santana Lopez." Santana commented. Quinn arched her eyebrow as she scanned Santana carefully.

"Welcome to the Hunger Games, Santana." Quinn said, walking across the floor to take her place beside Jesse. She brushed herself off before she continued. "I'll start by giving you all a tip. Always," she looked at each Tribute pointedly, "_Always_ make an entrance." Her eyes lingered on Rachel, who was the only person not paying attention, before she faced the supervisor.

"I'm sorry for my tardiness. My mentor insisted on keeping me back for a few minutes."

"Be sure it doesn't happen again, Tribute." Quinn could only offer a warm smile back, her eyes remaining cold as ice.


	5. Don't Mess With The Cool Kids

**A/N: Thanks again, guys! I just wanted to give a shoutout to dgronison and Sarcastic pistachio for reviewing more than one chapter each and a MASSIVE shoutout to Tasteless Rain for being my ****_awesome_**** beta!**

* * *

**Chapter Five: Don't Mess With The Cool Kids**

As soon as they were allowed to kick off, Quinn headed to the throwing knives. The other Careers followed after her, as Jesse had instructed them to.

"I don't see why we should follow her words though. She's got game, I'll give her that, but does she have the skills to back that up?" Jake said. Jake was the male Tribute from District 2. Jesse only smiled back at him.

"It looks like my girl is about to give you a show for just that reason, so if you wouldn't mind watching," he gestured towards where Quinn was standing in front of the target range.

"Let 'em rip, Q!" Jesse called. Without further hesitation the moving targets started whirring across the target range. Quinn performed, not missing a single mark. When the targets stopped and the supervisor of the station went to retrieve the knives, Quinn walked back to the other Careers.

"Don't let appearances fool you. Rest assured, Jesse is not in charge here. I am. If this is going to cause problems, feel free to leave." The other Careers all took a moment to share a look before Jake shrugged back at Quinn.

"Can't argue with that. I'm Jake-"

"Your District partner is Kitty Wilde, and our lovely Tributes from District 4 are Sam Evans and Brittany Pierce. _Please_ don't bore me with introductions."

"Jake, she's practically Tribute royalty, maybe I should do the talking from here." Kitty drawled. "What's St James talent?"

"I'm glad you asked!" Jesse exclaimed. "If you wouldn't mind following me!" The group walked over to the small collection of swords on various racks and shelves, where a trainer was waiting for a sparring partner. Jesse smiled at the Careers.

"Pick a sword, any sword." He chimed.

"That one." Sam said, pointing at a basic short sword. Jesse picked it up and sighed.

"Ugh, so boring. Oh well." He swung it once or twice before tightening his grip around the hilt and stepping onto the sparring mats.

* * *

Across the training hall, Rachel was appraising the bow and arrows available. She reached out for them before she thought better of it and moved over to the tracking station. She was glad that Finn had finally decided to give her some space. He was a great guy, and she knew that he was, but she had grown to prefer her own company over the years and suddenly needing to hold up a conversation with someone other than her fathers was a distraction that she didn't need. So she got in line behind one of the other Tributes who was reading over the different types of footprints you can typically find in an Arena. The girl she was standing behind was discussing the tracks with her District partner, when Rachel heard her say something hideously inaccurate.

"Those are chipmunk tracks, not squirrel." She said, gaining the attention of both of them.

"Does it matter? Both mean food." The girl said.

"Yes, but look," Rachel pointed at the scale model of each animal. "If you think you're hunting a squirrel and you get a chipmunk, that's a lot less meat. The decisions you make according to looking for a squirrel would make you eat more food and then…"

"We'd starve." The boy mused. "Thanks. I'm Elliot, this is Dani." He added. Rachel smiled at both of them weakly.

"Anything to help. Nothing to lose, you know?" Rachel shrugged. Elliot nodded in agreement, but Dani didn't reply.

"We still have a lot." Dani murmured. "At least, we could still have a lot if we knew how to go about having something." She nudged Elliot. "El here used to live a pretty easy life."

"Hey!"

"I had to support my family. No one else could do it." Rachel said. "What about you?"

"Much the opposite. I was kicked out of my house. No money, no clothes, no nothing. I had a job, though." Dani answered. Rachel nodded slowly, chewing the inside of her lip before she froze.

"I'm not looking for an alliance." She blurted. Dani tilted her head and frowned slightly.

"Well, if you ever are, I'd be glad to have your evident tracking prowess for help." Dani said, trying to fill the now painfully awkward silence.

* * *

Quinn looked around the training centre, paying more attention to the other Tributes than Sam, whom she was meant to be watching play with his trident. She noticed the boys from 8 and 10 talking to each other animatedly. The boy from 7 was showing something to _Santana_ with the axe he was holding. He looked up and caught Quinn's eye, so he smirked slightly and sent her a decidedly perverted wave. Quinn blanched and held back her smirk as she watched the Latina notice and punch him in the arm, obviously lecturing him on his gesture. The boy from 12 was messing around with a club with a surprising level of confidence and his District partner appeared to be playing nice with the pair from District 5. Quinn narrowed her eyes as all three of them stiffened slightly.

"Perhaps not, then…" Quinn muttered. She then searched for the pair from District 3, the only people left that she had found remotely interesting or competition as her competition. The pair were standing by the spears station, talking. And obviously not doing anything other than talking. Quinn frowned.

"Excuse me." She grunted.

"But, I was going to show you what I can do with the nets next!" Brittany trilled, jumping in front of her. Quinn stopped abruptly, scowled and pushed past her.

"Show me after." She strode over to the pair, shoved between them to the rack of spears and picked one up, twirling it for effect before she turned, slammed the shaft of the spear onto the ground and used it to lean on as they eyed her, mildly bewildered. Quinn looked at her fingernails for a moment.

"Please, don't let me interrupt."

"We aren't scared of you, Fabray." The boy said.

"Oh, aren't you? Your IQ must leave much to be desired."

"Watch it, princess. You should be afraid of us." The girl retorted. Quinn looked at her, coldly.

"Should I?" She stepped over to the throwing zone and aimed. "Should I _really?_" She threw the spear and the three of them watched as it whistled through the air and hit the dummy in the neck. She stepped down and put her hands on her hips.

"Something tells me I shouldn't be afraid of you." Quinn clicked her tongue. "You should be using this time wisely. Even I'm not confident enough to laze around for three days. Pick up your game, or I'll end it for you." She started to walk away before she paused and looked back at the girl.

"Bree, let's make this clear. I'm not intimidated by anyone. Much less a fifteen year old from a non-career District. Get yourself some perspective." And with that, she was gone. Bree and Brody looked at each other.

"How'd she know your name?" Brody wondered aloud. Bree smiled.

"She knows my name because I'm a threat. Let's get to work."

* * *

At lunch it was very clear how alliances had been formed, already. Bree and Brody had their own corner of the cafeteria, opposite the six Careers' corner. Kurt and Blaine were together, with Finn sitting beside Kurt. Rachel was by herself. Santana and Puck had their own table, one over from where Dani and Elliot were sitting. Quinn had noticed Dani drop a piece of paper on Santana's plate as she walked past, which caused her to frown. The girl from District 7 had definitely gotten her attention that morning. She decided to make it her business to form an alliance with her before anyone else could. She could be useful.

"Hey, Q." Jesse whispered, getting her attention.

"Hm?" She responded, drawing her gaze to him.

"I'm going to go talk to the District 3 guy after lunch. See what I can milk out of him, you know."

"Oh, sure. Totally."

"Do I smell _doubt_ coming from you?"

"I'm not sure. Your scent of bullshit is too strong for me to tell." Quinn mumbled, looking back over at Rachel.

"What's her deal?" Quinn asked, pointing. Jesse shrugged.

"I don't know why you care." He said, his mouth half full of food. Quinn elbowed him.

"Get some freaking table manners. She could've died last night, but she held it together. She was obviously nervous before she went out to the parade, so how did she manage to look like everything was working perfectly even though she _must've_ been scared out of her mind." She stabbed her fork into her salad. "I don't trust her."

"I'd beg to differ, the way you look at her." Jesse chuckled. Quinn's brow furrowed slowly.

"Huh?" She grunted. He chuckled and shrugged again.

"I'm probably mistaken, but you look at her like a girl looks at their crush. But maybe you just want to get to know her or something. Truth be told I don't think I've ever seen you look at something with an undertone of something other than varying degrees of dislike."

"I'm glad to hear you know how I feel about you, St James." She smiled, deflecting his comment. They laughed briefly before getting up and returning to the training centre.

* * *

Santana had tucked the note into her pocket immediately and only took it out to look at once she was safely back inside her bedroom. She had announced that she needed a shower upon re-entering the apartment before she retreated to her room, and further into her bathroom to read. The message was simple and short.

_The roof, 8 o'clock. See you there. – Dani_

Santana crumpled the note up in her hand and tossed it over the drain as she turned the shower on. You can't be too careful in the Hunger Games. Once she was done in the shower Santana went back into her room and just as she finished dressing Puck swung into the room and grinned at her.

"What did it say?" He asked.

"What did what say?" Santana replied, tossing her towel onto the floor of her bathroom.

"The note!" Puck exclaimed. Santana tilted her head to the side.

"What note? Puckerman, did you hit your head a little too hard at the climbing station today?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Lopez! I saw her pass you that note during lunch. Now tell me what's going on."

"How about… No!" Santana said, pushing past him. "But thanks for the 'How to wield an axe 101' class today." He grabbed her shoulder.

"Hey! I'm just lookin' out for you. I promised I'd keep you safe. Do you mind not making that job harder than it needs to be?" He gave her a half smile and shrugged slightly before he added, "And I'll be showing you how to throw someone my size tomorrow." He patted her shoulder and turned her back around. "Eat something before you go get your girl, okay?" Santana shook her head as she walked up to the dining table. It was seven forty five, so she had a quick snack before she checked around to make sure no one could see her and ducked into the lift. When she walked out onto the roof she was startled by the cold blast of air that hit her. After gaining her bearings she noticed Dani standing against the railing to her left. She walked over and stood next to her.

* * *

"I thought about what you said." Dani started, looking down at the Capitol. Dani waited for Santana to get comfortable beside her, their shoulders brushing slightly. Dani herself was leaning pretty heavily on the railing, mostly because her feet were killing her. "And I think you were right, but it's hard to let go, you know?" She finished. When Santana didn't reply she turned her head and noticed that she was looking over at the far end of the balcony.

"Santana?"

"Were you aware that princess is up there?" Santana asked, looking back at Dani, who nodded.

"Yeah. I was here first. When she arrived I looked over cause I thought you were really early and I got her instead." Dani moved so she could look at the blonde's back. "We kind of acknowledged each other in a 'I won't say anything if you don't say anything' way and she walked up there. It doesn't really matter, though. The wind is too strong for her to hear what we're saying. Don't worry." Dani explained. "She's a really confusing person."

"Let's not talk about her." Santana mumbled. "What were you saying before?"

"Oh! I though about what you said this morning." Dani said. "And you were right."

"I usually am." Santana smiled. Dani shouldered her.

"Oh, grow up. Anyway, I decided you were right, but I'm struggling with actually… Gathering the energy to live."

"Don't put effort into it." Santana mumbled. "Think about things you want to do before you die. Something basic. Something attainable."

"I want to turn eighteen. My birthday's in sixteen days." Dani paused and groaned. "I think I'm going to be saying that a lot in the next couple days."

"Well hey, don't focus on that. We'll celebrate your birthday together."

* * *

Bree and Brody were standing side by side in front of the couch in their apartment, waiting for Cassandra to sit down. She crashed out of her room and slumped onto the sofa.

"Alright kids, give me a full report."

"We got the attention of the blonde bitch from District 1." Bree muttered. "She's so far proven herself with the spears and the throwing knives. The girl from 7 has a sharp tongue and her boyfriend was obviously a worker because he was teaching her how to use the axe. The Careers are solid this year, but if you separate dumb and dumber from 4 neither should cause any huge problem. The pair from 2 seem tense around each other, so I suspect they have history. I can use that." Bree said. Cassandra nodded, inspecting her fingernails.

"Anything to add, Brody?"

"Jesse St James spoke to me earlier. I'm gunning for an alliance, but I'll need to impress him."

"Then show him your dance moves, Weston. Befriend him, and then kill him in cold blood. That's how you play the Games. Remember the plan. Bree, get into their heads. Mess with them. Pull the strings." She looked at them both. "Do _not_ disappoint me." She hissed. Bree rolled her eyes.

"I think I'll be more disappointed about whatever happens than you will be." She said, walking to her room.

"Go pacify her, Brody." Cassandra groaned. Brody nodded and followed Bree, who had just shut her door. When he reached her door he tried the doorknob, which was locked.

"Bree?"

"Go away, Brody."

"Cassie wants to speak to you."

"Cassie didn't win the Hunger Games when she was fifteen. Piss off."

* * *

Quinn could see her breath in the air. She didn't think it was particularly cold, but the wind chill factor was making her skin break out in goosebumps periodically. All she'd wanted was to get some space and some fresh air and every single Victor she had spoken to in prep for the Games had insisted that the roof was a place you could be alone.

So much for that.

Because, of course, Quinn hadn't even arrived to the roof first, Danielle had arrived before her, and when she had walked up to the far end of the balcony, there had, by order of the hateful gods above Panem, not only been a person hiding, but the person was possibly the_ last_ person Quinn wanted to be near. Rachel Berry had barely exited her mind since Quinn had viewed her Reaping and now she was curled into a ball petrified with fear because of her presence. Because that just made her feel _so _good about herself.

Quinn wondered why she hadn't just gone back down to the first floor and locked herself in her bedroom, until she realised that she was actually stalling from thinking about… Quinn shook her head. No, she wasn't. She didn't want to talk to Rachel. She didn't _want_ to do anything to do with another person, perhaps beyond killing them. That was her job. Her purpose. To win the Hunger Games. Making friends wasn't on that agenda. And yet…

"I know you're there." She said. She sensed Rachel tense up again.

"Uh…" Rachel whimpered. Quinn nearly blushed. Had Rachel not heard her? That totally wasn't _awkward as hell._

"I said, I know you're there Man Hands." Man Hands? Where did Man Hands come from? Quinn cursed herself, she'd been paying _way _too much attention to the District 12 girl than what was acceptable.

"Then why haven't you told me to leave?" Rachel asked. Quinn resisted the urge to look down at her.

"You could've. I wouldn't have stopped you." She felt like she was asserting some sort of authority over Rachel by not looking at her, and she almost didn't want that to be happening. She heard Rachel start to get to her feet.

"Stop." She blurted, scrambling to get Rachel to stay put. Not because she _wanted_ Rachel to stay! Because… Quinn bit her lip.

"I'm sorry, what?" Rachel piped up, curling back into her previous position. Quinn said the first sentence that jumped into her mind.

"You can't leave now. It's too late. We aren't the only ones on the roof." Quinn huffed. _"Roll with it, Q."_ She thought.

"I don't see why it'd make any difference." Rachel mumbled, more to herself than anyone else. Quinn chuckled, feeling herself gain control of the situation again.

"Maybe not to you. It's a more drastic detail to me, though. See, I don't like people, as a rule. Being caught with _you_ would define you as a weakness to my District partner, and the pair from 3." She said, allowing herself to be a little impressed with how quickly she thought of her response.

"Who's down there?" Rachel asked.

"Danielle. From 5." Quinn answered. That was right, Danielle from District 5 who had the striking Chariot Ride costume, who had an affinity for throwing punches.

"How do you keep track of everyone's name and where they're from?" Rachel asked.

"Necessity." Quinn answered. Her answer was mostly true. She noticed things because that was what she'd been programmed to do for her whole life. Notice, pick apart, divide, conquer. Life was a giant game of chess, except half the pieces are hidden from her. Pull back the shroud and gain the advantage. Pull back the shroud without your opponent realising, and _win._ "And I remember nowhere near everyone. Only the people who stand out." She added.

"But how do you determine that?" Quinn couldn't help but giggle at Rachel's curious nature. She checked herself before she replied. People asking incessant questions wasn't cute. It was annoying.

"You ask an awful lot of questions, have you ever been told?"

"No…" Rachel hesitated, and Quinn nearly felt guilty for evoking that tone of voice from Rachel. But she didn't. She couldn't. "I never really… Spoke that much at home. I kept to myself. It was easier that way." Rachel finished.

"_Oh shit._" Quinn thought. "_She's a hunter, isn't she?_"

"Well, you ask _a lot_ of questions." Quinn trailed off, trying to remember what Rachel's original question was. Best to divert the topic back to safe waters. "Anyway… How I notice a person is if they break the mould. For example, Sam got my attention because he volunteered for his little brother. He's since proved to be Career quality with a trident, so we kept him. I noticed Bree and Brody giving each other a shifty nod at the end of their Reaping, though they were both chosen rather than volunteering themselves. They _reek_ of conspiracy." Quinn shifted her weight from one foot to the other, if only to give her something to do other than looking at Rachel. "Which I don't like at all." She finished. When Rachel didn't reply she almost looked back to make sure she was still there, but chose instead to speak. Looking at her had become some sort of wall between the two of them, Quinn had decided. Don't break the wall and everything would work out the way it was meant to.

"This would be pretty awkward if you've fallen asleep, Man Hands."

"Did you notice me?"


	6. Danielle

**A/N: I don't really have anything new to say here except thank you for following the story. So thanks!**

* * *

**Chapter Six: Danielle**

"Elliot, where's Dani?" Adam asked, leaning into his room.

"Her room." Elliot replied, sprawled across his bed. "Probably massaging her feet." The remote control for his room theme was hanging loosely in his hand.

"Well, the three of us need to have a discussion about alliances."

"She'll be out when she's ready, no sooner no later." Elliot drawled, changing his wall from a forest setting to a beach one. "And when she's ready we can talk."

"Are you sure you want an alliance with her?" Adam asked. Elliot sat up.

"I volunteered to be with her. I am here to be in an alliance with her. I came so she wouldn't die alone. Get out of my room."

"El, I was just asking. Don't hold it against me."

"Get out."

"I thought I should mention, by the way. You get to design the Interview outfits. Great reception in the Capitol."

"Why are you still here?" Elliot snapped, standing up. Despite their age difference, Elliot was taller than Adam.

"I know what your angle is." Adam smiled.

"And what is that, exactly?" Elliot said, folding his arms.

"Protective best friend. You can work it." Adam said, backing up. Elliot scowled and flopped back onto his bed, flicking from the beach scene to a grassy meadow. From the grassy meadow to a riverbed. From a riverbed to a mangrove. Adam popped his head back into the room.

"I take it Dani's on the roof, then."

"No." Elliot shook his head.

"Just let me know when she's back, okay El?" Adam called, walking away. Elliot groaned and switched the room back to the forest setting. After a few minutes he rolled into a position where he could reach his bedside table, pulled the drawer open and dug out a notebook and pencil. He rolled back onto his stomach and started to design the outfits.

* * *

"Okay, wait, you mean to tell me that your District partner designed that outfit?" Santana laughed.

"He totally did! Elliot's basically in charge of my entire wardrobe. And I think I'm pretty safe in his hands, you know?"

"I'm sure he could've thought of something better than _palm trees_ for my Chariot costume…" Santana grumbled. "But seriously? That's so good. It could be his talent."

"If he wins." Dani said.

"If he wins." Santana parroted. "If you won, what would your talent be?" Dani grimaced.

"I like to sing. You?"

"Gymnastics." Santana mused. "Except maybe I shouldn't have told you that." She bumped her hip into Dani's. "Can't have competition knowing how much of a ninja I am."

"I'm going to hold you to that, Lopez."

"I'd be insulted if you didn't."

"Hey, what's your District partner like, anyway?" Dani asked. Santana shook her head.

"He's a loser." Santana knew she was smiling too hard for Dani to think she was being sincere. "He's my closest friend, that's why I volunteered. Living without him back in District 7 would've been…" Santana sighed. "I would've died anyway." Santana folded her arms across her chest and frowned slightly. "But now that I think about it, it was a pretty selfish move."

"How?" Dani asked, her frown mirroring Santana's. Santana shook her head.

"Why do you think Elliot volunteered? Did he have anything at home that was worth leaving behind like… Like this?" She asked.

"No…" Dani said. "He volunteered because of how bad my life was, I reckon."

"What do you mean?" Santana asked. Dani shrugged.

"My parents kicked me out a year ago. Clash of beliefs. Maybe he… volunteered so I wouldn't have to die alone."

"So he volunteered for you, not for him."

"That sounds right." Dani mumbled, suddenly feeling a wave of guilt crash over her. Santana hugged her arms around herself a little tighter.

"Noah could've won this thing. He could've done it, if I hadn't _fucking_ volunteered." Her hands curled into fists. "He promised mami that he'd take care of me, and he's not going to let go of that, why was I so _stupid?_"

"Whoa, whoa, San." Dani put one hand on Santana's forearm and the other on her shoulder. "San, calm down. Doing this isn't going to help anyone." Santana was about to shower Dani in snide comments when she realised that she had turned to face the other girl. So instead she simply did what her gut told her to do, which was to wrap her arms around Dani and hug her, so she could bury her face in the blonde's shoulder. Dani was stunned by the gesture, though much less than Santana herself. What surprised both girls even more than this was Dani's immediate reciprocation of the hug.

"What happens if District 1 sees us?" Dani whispered. Santana looked up at the girl on the other end of the balcony, standing alone.

"She's not going to look back at us." Santana whispered back. "She knows better."

* * *

"Quinn?" Rachel said. The blonde remained silent. It was typical of her, to simply stop talking. To leave Rachel hanging, wondering what was so wrong with answering her question. Quinn was playing mind games, and Rachel was having none of it. Rachel sat and hugged her knees closer to her chest as she huffed. So on one hand she had Finn trying to engage with her, which was really foolish of him really, because Rachel knew what his intent was, and she would be simply _vacuous_ of her to acknowledge or requite his feelings. On the other hand she was stuck here when really she could just stand up and go, because Quinn had very little power over her at this point. Except for the eventual promise of death, of course. And Rachel was stuck there because she really desperately wanted to know what the blonde had to say. In other words, she'd fallen right into Quinn's trap.

"Yes. I noticed you." Quinn said. The only thing Rachel hadn't figured out, was that Quinn wasn't actually playing a game with her. Unfortunately for Quinn, Rachel was so wrapped up in her own thoughts; she hadn't noticed Quinn was speaking. Rachel snapped out of her daydream when Quinn stopped talking and could only awkwardly ask her to repeat what she had said.

"I said I noticed you for your acting." Quinn said.

"Oh…" Rachel said. "You know, maybe if you faced me I could hear you better?" For the first time that night Rachel noticed Quinn having an outward reaction to anything she said. Quinn had frozen.

"That's a terrible idea." She eventually said.

"Why?"

"Because," Quinn put on her iciest glare and rounded on Rachel, surprising the shorter girl so much it caused her to shrink back. "I'm not supposed to do things for other people's benefits. _I'm_ not supposed to talk to _you_. I'm the top of the pyramid, do you understand? You are the _dirt_ that I step on – No! You're the dirt I _don't_ step on. You are the ground where _filthy animals_ have made their mark. You're going to die the second the Games start and _I_ am going to-" Quinn halted suddenly, seeing the pure terror in Rachel's eyes. Her mind screamed at her to glare harder, so she did. And she stepped closer to Rachel, who could only shrink back further. "You!" Quinn pointed at her. "What do you think you're doing?"

"What am _I_ doing?" Rachel shrieked back, in disbelief. She'd totally lost track of what was going on. Quinn was about to shout something in reply when she remembered that they weren't alone on the roof. She looked over to where Danielle had been standing and saw her _and_ Santana staring at her.

"_Think, Q, think!"_ She hissed, too quietly for Rachel to hear. And then she got an idea.

* * *

Bree knew it was childish. What she did when she wanted to cry. She knew it was childish, but she guessed that was never going to stop her. She'd built a pillow fort and hid inside it. The stress was getting to her head, and it wasn't _fair_. She was fifteen. Only like, seven people had won the Games at her age. And all Cassandra was doing was making sure that everything was going according to her plan.

"New flash, July! Becoming a Career District isn't actually a good thing!" She grunted, in her pillow fort. But Bree couldn't just go die in peace once she got to the Games, not after all of this. She had an image. A legacy. She had to go home, or die trying, because that was she said she would do.

"_Or maybe…_" She pondered. "_This would be easier if I let myself go insane in the Arena._" She stood up, flattening her fort. "Yeah!" She smiled. "Yeah, that works. I can kill Brody, finally. And Kitty. And that _twig_ Marley who got in my way today. And Jake. And… _Quinn._" She breathed, nodding to herself. That was right. She was going to kill Quinn, even if she died in the process. Bree was going to be the one to kill Quinn Fabray.

* * *

Santana was stunned. Dani was stunned. Rachel was stunned. The three girls were standing next to each other, mouths agape, all staring at Quinn like she was a madwoman. Which, they'd all thought to themselves, she probably was. Dani was the first to speak.

"Okay, wait. Let's just backtrack a little bit. You want to have an alliance… With us?" Dani asked, gesturing at the three of them. Quinn nodded at her. "All three of us?" Quinn nodded again. "Even though we just caught you shouting at…" Dani faltered. "I'm sorry, I don't think you actually told me your name earlier." Dani bit her lip.

"Rachel. Berry. Rachel Berry." Rachel said hastily. Dani smiled and faced Quinn again.

"Even though we just caught you shouting at Rachel?" Dani finished. Quinn ran her hand through her hair and nodded again.

"Look, you get something from it, I get something from it. I'll keep the Careers off of you as best I can and I won't kill you. What you guys have to do is _not tell a soul_ about me being up here, or talking to you, or me even knowing your names." She clicked her tongue. "Okay, forget the knowing your names part. I can sort that out myself, but I'll need your help to pull it off." The three other girls all looked at each other.

"Help to pull off _what, _exactly?" Santana asked.

"I need you guys to… Not look like easy pickings. In the bloodbath, I won't be able to protect you. You have to handle yourselves until I break away from the Careers."

"Why would you break away from the Careers to join us?" Dani asked. Quinn looked at her.

"You mean, why would I leave a group of highly trained killers who could easily overpower me if they all fought me at once to a group of girls who know their best chance of survival is to trust me to not kill them?"

"She's got a point." Santana muttered. "But why wouldn't you just kill us?" Quinn shook her head at that, and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Look, that's not how I work. I mean, that's exactly how I work. This is exactly what I've been taught to do for my whole life. This is how I function. But, honestly, if I was going to go for the double cross, I would go about it a lot more subtly."

"What do you even find useful about us?" Dani inquired. Quinn shook her hand in the air.

"I'm not that stupid, Danielle."

"Dani." Santana and Dani chimed. They looked at each other for a moment, a mixture of pleased and confused at their simultaneous reaction, before they looked back at Quinn.

"You'd have to actually agree to the alliance before I started feeding you information like that." She chewed the inside of her lip. "Look, if you agree, meet me at the Training Centre at eight. If you don't agree, and you tell your District partners about my offer," She reverted to her perfect glare for putting the fear of god into people, "I will kill you painfully and slowly. I will kill _your_ District partners in front of you and then skin you alive." She threatened, looking carefully at Dani and Santana. She looked pointedly at the three of them before she strode to the lift. The three girls looked at each other carefully.

"What do you think?" Rachel asked.

"I think…" Santana said. "She's crazy. But it could work."

"I was planning on being there early anyway." Dani said. "I don't see a downside to this yet."

"I'm going to sleep on my decision." Rachel mumbled, wandering to the lift doors.

"Do you think this is a good idea, Dan?" Santana asked. Dani shrugged.

"Whatever happens, I'll see you tomorrow." On impulse Dani reached out and squeezed Santana's hand before she followed Rachel to the lift.

"Night."

* * *

Blaine dragged himself out of bed and walked to the dining table. His mentor was already there waiting for him, carefully setting out her food and making sure every speck was clean before she ate. Blaine couldn't help but feel a little sad for her. Emma had won her Hunger Games against all odds, but the Arena conditions had affected her terribly post Games. That didn't surprise Blaine, if he'd been constantly rained on by blood and sewage for any amount of time he'd been driven mad, but having to kill people through it and being stuck there for nearly five days? Emma was practically stable under the circumstances. She'd been lucky her Games were so short, out of necessity. Not a single Tribute had stopped moving during that Games, not after a literal bloodbath started after the dust had settled from the first one. Blaine sat down across from her and poured himself some coffee, a drink he had only ever heard of prior to his being reaped.

"So, Blaine, how's that alliance with Kurt going?"

"Excellently!" Blaine beamed after drinking a good half of his coffee. "I think together we can outlast most of the Tributes. He's a lot better at building shelter and cooking than I am, but I can fight better than he can, so it's a good match."

"Did you have any previous fighting training?"

"I used to box a little bit. But, you know, working out on the farms really helps with knowing how to use basic weapons." Blaine said. "I should head down soon." He added, standing up. When he got to the Training Centre, Kurt was already there, along with four or five other Tributes.

"Hey." He said, standing beside Kurt.

"Morning. I see the girl from 1 is on time today." Kurt answered. "I was thinking we could go over the climbing station and obstacle courses today. Something that neither of us know."

"That's a great idea, Kurt." Blaine said.

* * *

A few hours earlier, Quinn had been in the Training Centre, observing all of the non-weapon stations, carefully considering if she wanted to visit one. When it was five to eight she walked across to the spears station and waited. A few minutes later Dani entered the room and spotted Quinn immediately. She watched Dani move to the station.

"I think Santana will be here soon." She said. Quinn nodded to herself.

"You're in?" Quinn asked. Dani looked at her for a long moment before she nodded stiffly. Santana walked in before Dani could say anything. The pair caught each other's eye contact but neither smiled.

"I'm here. What's the deal?" Santana spoke up, stopping beside Dani. Quinn nodded.

"I want you two to impress me."

"But I thought-"

"You got my attention. That's impressive by a normal person's standards. Now you need to impress _me_." Quinn cut Dani off. "You asked me what I found useful about you." Quinn hesitated, considering how to continue.

"Well?" Santana bit. "We don't exactly have all day for this." Dani grabbed her hand instinctively. The gesture shocked Santana as much as it had the previous night, so she took the note and shut up.

"She's right though," Dani commented. "We don't have time to waste before people stop showing up."

"I noticed you from your Chariot Ride escapades. The toss of the hat, mostly. It was bold, but you obviously thought it up on the spot. And the crowd ate it up."

"And that means…?" Dani asked. Quinn waved her hand to signal that she wasn't finished yet.

"Yesterday you proved to know enough about the basics of hand-to-hand combat, cooking and scavenging. Last night, and this morning too, I've discerned from your natural behaviour that you're casually impulsive and your urges normally end up sorting everything out. Does this all sound right?" Quinn paused to wait for Dani to react, so the other blonde nodded. "I'm guessing that some time ago you made a split second decision that could've gone… Badly, to say the least. But you made it work out of…" Quinn clicked her tongue, looking Dani up and down. "Either pride or determination, it's hard to tell which. Is that right?"

"Uh, yeah." Dani frowned. "Yeah I did. How could you tell?"

"I read people." Quinn grunted. "All of this tells me that you trust yourself, which is valuable. You also have good instincts, which is an excellent trait to have in a high-pressure environment. You're the 'act now consequences later' type which means you'll probably make it out of the Bloodbath under your own steam, and you have connections with the other Tributes, mainly Santana here and your District partner." Quinn stood up. "That's what I think is useful about you."

"What about San?" Dani asked. Quinn shook her head.

"We don't have time to waste on this. I'll tell you tomorrow."

"Oh, so you don't have any thoughts on me?" Santana challenged. Quinn furrowed her brow.

"Fine. You caught my attention because you aren't afraid of giving people shit. You aren't afraid of pushing for what you want and even though you're sure as hell afraid of me you absolutely refuse to show it." Santana quirked her eyebrow.

"Me, scared of you? Please." Santana scoffed. In a flash Quinn had Santana on the floor, in the perfect position to break Santana's arm.

"Don't insult me, Lopez." Quinn gritted her teeth, holding Santana there for a moment before she got to her feet and helped the other girl up. She noticed Santana reaching for Dani's hand and Dani meeting her halfway with the gesture. "Anyway, this is the ground plan. I need both of you to show off."

"How are we supposed to do that?" Dani asked.

"Pick something you know how to do. Something you can be better at than the others." Quinn looked pointedly at Santana, who shrugged.

"I'm pretty good at gymnastics."

"Then prove it."

"I don't…" Dani huffed, "I don't have anything like that."

"Nonsense, you get along with people. So befriend everyone. Make the other Careers suspicious of you. You don't even need to get along with anyone, just speak to everyone."

"But-"

"Heck, even have a staged fight with someone." Quinn's eyes widened. "Oh. Oh that's good." She smiled. Santana and Dani shared an uneasy look.

"What's good?" Dani asked.

* * *

When Elliot made it into the Training Centre he saw Dani talking to the boy from District 12. He jogged over to her and listened to their conversation for a moment.

"Yeah, I guess 12 is pretty different to 5. People can't really afford to live away from their families, you know?" He paused and looked at Elliot. Dani smiled.

"This is Elliot, my best friend. Elliot, this is Finn." Elliot smiled at Finn.

"I hate to interrupt but I really need to have a word with Dani alone, sorry. Is that okay?" He said. Finn nodded and wandered away, leaving Elliot to look at Dani in earnest.

"What?" She finally blurted. He looked at her in disbelief.

"Last night? Santana?" He whispered frantically. "Tell me _everything!?_"

"I, uh." Dani swallowed, glancing at Quinn across the room, who shrugged back at her. "_So helpful_." Dani thought, sourly. "It was okay, I guess. We chatted for a bit."

"You 'chatted' for, like, two hours Dan. What's there to be secretive about?"

"Um. Can we talk about something else?" Dani asked. Elliot looked at her for a long moment.

"You're keeping something from me, and I don't think I've been so insulted in my life."

"Okay, okay!" Dani exclaimed. "Okay, I made an alliance, but… That's really all I can tell you right now." Dani said. "Don't look at me like that, El!"

"With Santana?"

"Well, yes, but someone else as well!"

"Who?"

"I can't tell you that!"

"Dani!"

"Elliot!" Dani retorted. Elliot sighed and looked at her.

"Danielle-"


	7. Try To Not Be Stupid

**A/N: God, so many more follows! Thanks guys! Also, a couple of you found me on Tumblr and sent me feedback there, which was totally awesome, so thank you! My URL is sparkybraginski go check it out if you feel like it. :)**

* * *

**Chapter Seven: Try To Not Be Stupid**

The Career pack walked into the room just in time to hear a crack echoing around the training centre. Everyone in the room – Finn, Santana, Puck, Kurt, Blaine and the Careers – looked over to where the sound came from to see Dani trembling with rage, and Elliot holding his hands to his cheek. The room remained silent for a moment, everyone waiting for one of the Tributes from District 5 to speak. Finally, Dani looked around and decided to address everyone in the room for an explanation.

"My name is Dani. My name is Dani Taylor. That is my name." She looked back at Elliot. "_Danielle_ is a fragile, scared, sad and sorry person who belongs in a closet somewhere, never to be remembered." She lowered her voice so only Elliot could hear her. "She never seemed to want to leave that place anyway. I don't care what you have to say to me, El. You promised you'd never call me that again." She bit her lip. "I'm sorry I slapped you. You just…" She shook her head. "You sounded so much like my _father_…" She put her head in her hands and took a moment to breathe. Elliot managed to pull his hands away from his face so he could envelope her in a hug.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled. She grabbed onto his shirt, and did her best to hide face from the Careers, and Quinn. He ran one hand through his hair quickly before he kept hugging her.

"C'mon, rock star. Get it together." He mumbled. She nodded into his shoulder and slowly pulled away from him.

"I shouldn't have hit you."

"I've gotten worse. From you." He said. "Actually, I'm more hurt by you throwing my top hat away – _twice_ – than you slapping me." He smiled. "So we're all good." He looked at her for a moment. "I actually had something else to ask you."

"What's that?"

"What do you think of the colour blue?"

* * *

Once training had started for that day Finn went to the clubs station, again. He felt like he'd made a really good start on it the previous day, and if he just kept at it he might be able to impress the Gamemakers in the Private Training. So he kept practicing and swinging and ducking and rolling and doing his best to simulate an actual fight while he worked. And he only stopped when Dani came up to him, evidently wanting to continue their conversation from before.

"You look like you need a rest, big guy." Dani smiled, stopping beside him. He gave a lopsided shrug and set the club down on the floor.

"I guess."

"Hey, I'm sorry about our conversation being cut short earlier."

"Oh, no, that's okay. You obviously needed to talk to your friend. He, uh, he is your friend, right?"

"Yeah! Yeah, El's my best friend. And –" Dani stopped speaking suddenly, watching something on the other side of the centre.

"Um… Dani?" Finn said. She glanced at him.

"Watch her." She pointed across the room at the sharp-tongued Latina Finn could recall confronting Quinn the previous morning. She was hopping, flipping and cartwheeling across a collection of mats.

"She's really good." Finn sighed. Dani scowled at her. They watched the girl flip all the way down the mats so she was in earshot of them. Dani scoffed.

"Show off." She spat. Finn paled slightly as the girl stopped and looked at them pointedly.

"I'm sorry, what did you just say?" She said, stalking up to them.

"I'm sorry, didn't you hear me Santana?" Dani snapped, folding her arms. The girl, Finn now knew was named Santana, arched an eyebrow. "I said you're a show off."

"You jealous of my moves, blondie?"

"Why would I be jealous of _you?_" Dani retorted. "From what I just saw you're nothing special. It's not like you can kill someone with a cartwheel."

"At least I can _do_ a cartwheel." Santana smirked. "Which is more than what can be said for you," Santana leaned forward ever so slightly, "_Danielle._" Dani's eyebrows flew up her forehead as she unfolded her arms.

"One more word out of you and I swear-"

"Bring it on, loser!" Santana shouted. Dani growled and shoved her suddenly, immediately grabbing the attention of everyone in the room, and causing several instructors to start running towards them as the pair lunged at each other, while Finn tried desperately to hold them apart. The two girls were dragged away from each other and then both given a very public and very severe talking to. Finn returned to his training right after, too afraid of getting caught in another scuffle to seek out something else to do.

* * *

That night Quinn, Dani and Santana met on the roof, and Quinn commended both girls for their performance. She rewarded them by turning a blind eye to the fact that they were holding hands again.

* * *

The next day ran relatively smoothly. Blaine showed Kurt a few basic strikes in hand to hand, and worked on his own machete work. Kurt spent some time working on how to build snares and shelters. Dani kept working her way through the Tributes, getting a grasp on who was good at what, who had an alliance with who, things people were scared of. She purposely stayed far away from Santana the whole time, who spent most of the day refining her axe wielding with Puck. Finn kept bashing around with the club and Rachel continued to build up her hunting skills. Brody and Bree ended up being ridiculously good fighters, much to Quinn's disdain. The Career pack moved across every single offensive station, Quinn and Jesse doing their best to show off. It was virtually impossible for them not to, seeing as their skills overshadowed nearly every single other Tribute's in any weapon. Jesse and Quinn had both agreed to avoid hand to hand, swimming and acrobatics, to give them a slight edge. Rachel was doing her best to ignore Quinn, and Quinn was doing her best to refuse to acknowledge that she had noticed Rachel avoiding her. Tension was high all the way across the room, but, surprisingly, the calmest person was Elliot. Elliot was at the camouflage station, blitzing through each of the terrains that were available for him to morph into. He was at peace while he worked, when Dani finally returned to his side.

"What're you doing, El?" She asked. He smiled up at her.

"I can hide anywhere in plain sight, this is so easy." His smile dropped as he noticed the way Dani was fiddling with her hands. "What's wrong?"

"That's… Not what I meant. Why are you here?"

"Because I volunteered?" Elliot tilted his head slightly. Dani sighed and sat down next to him.

"But _why_, though? Why did you volunteer?" She asked. She needed confirmation. He shrugged.

"So you won't be alone." He said. She clenched her fists.

"El-"

"So you won't die as alone as you lived." He said. "And to help you turn eighteen." Dani chuckled, her eyes still sullen. He sighed at her.

"It's too late to go back now, Dan. Just… Let go." He eased her hands back into a relaxed position. "Now let me turn you into a tree."

* * *

"Q, J, I'm trusting you to remember the most important thing about Private Training."

"You have to impress them, guys. You have to perform for them. I know you can. You're Dani Taylor and Elliot Gilbert. There are no better performers."

"Don't hold back. Show them everything you've got. Prove it to them; District 3 is not a force to be reckoned with."

"I know you two can do this, you're a spunky pair. This is time to show off, and I _know_ you two can do that. Be competitive. Like you are with your arm-wrestles."

"Do whatever you can to show them you know how to survive. Do what you're good at, Kurt, not the thing you think will be the flashiest. Nothing gets a lower score than incompetence."

"Don't be afraid to get their attention, Blaine, because if you can't get them to pay attention to you now, you never will."

"And do _not_ forget to use your time wisely. I believe in you two! Finn, Rachel, you can _win _this! I have faith in you. You just need to have faith in yourselves, as well."

* * *

The 24 Tributes all sat in the waiting room, ready to go.

"Jesse St. James." Jesse stood and grinned, getting a collection of whoops and hollers from the Careers as he walked across to the entrance, Bree and Quinn both noticing the fist bump he shared with Brody. Neither were too pleased by this development. As soon as the door had shut behind Jesse, Bree turned in her seat to glare at Brody.

"Do you have an _alliance _with him?" She snapped. Brody's jaw set as he shook his head.

"No, sadly my charms didn't worm my way that deep with him. The best I could get was his respect, which is better than nothing, I suppose."

"I beg to differ! What do you think you're gonna do with that sack of shit's _respect?_ That makes you a target you donkey faced moron!"

"How am I supposed to form an alliance without him respecting me?"

"Gee, I don't know, by _forming an alliance?_"

"Bree, it's not like-"

"We've been training near-continuously for _months_ and you choose now to start sucking? Great timing, Weston, excuse me while I go make a noose for you."

"Hey, you know, I liked it a lot better when you just wanted me to die so you could win." He said. Bree nodded.

"So be it." She crossed one leg over the other and glared at the wall in front of her. Brody couldn't help but think that he'd just made a really stupid mistake. A few seconds later, Quinn was called into the room. She pointedly glared at both Bree and Brody on her way past. As soon as she was out of the room there was a whistle from Santana. Everyone in the room turned to look at her, most by that time knowing her as the crazy girl from 7 with a death wish. They weren't far off.

"I don't know what you did, but it must've been good to get the princess to look at you like that."

"You know, Santana, I think we could all do without your commentary right now." Dani hissed. The two glared at each other across the room until both of their District partners gripped their shoulders to draw their attention elsewhere. After that only the Careers spoke, and once they had all gone into the Training Centre, the waiting room was silent beyond the air conditioning humming in the background. When Elliot was called he squeezed Dani's hand, both giving the other a reassuring smile before he walked across the room and through the gate. Everyone else was looking at a section of wall or floor, some mumbling to themselves, some not. So when Dani was called, she dared to glance at Santana, who looked up at the same moment she did. Santana smiled supportively, and Dani mouthed back to her.

"Knock 'em dead." She smiled. Santana's expression widened into a grin and she carefully watched Dani enter the Training Centre.

* * *

After District 6 had gone, Puck twisted to look at Santana.

"Remember what I taught you?" He asked. Santana scoffed.

"The real question, Noah, is whether you remember what _I_ taught you."

"Noah Puckerman." The pair looked over at the gate, which had opened once more. Puck grinned back at Santana.

"Don't doubt the Puckasaurus, Lopez." He smirked, or tried to. It ended up looking too grim to be perky. "I got this." He added hastily. "Good luck." He mumbled, standing up and exiting the room. Santana leant forward and pressed her hands into her forehead, as she sighed deeply. She could do this, she could impress them. Her name was called and she left the room. When the door had shut behind her Kurt started to shake with nerves. He and Blaine were sitting opposite each other, so Blaine immediately reached out and grabbed his shaking hands. Kurt looked into his eyes.

"You'll be fine, Kurt. Your score doesn't matter, in the end. You know how to survive. _That's _what matters." Blaine said, his eyes set. Kurt released a breath and nodded.

"Okay. Good luck." Kurt said. They stayed holding each other's gaze until the silence was broken.

"Kurt Hummel."

"Good luck to you, stranger." Blaine smiled, ushering Kurt toward the gate.

* * *

Soon enough, only Finn and Rachel were left.

"You know, Rachel, we could work really well together."

"Please don't, Finn. I have enough to think about as it is. Good luck with your club or whatever it was. I need to focus right now."

"But-"

"Finn I am in the middle of an intense preparation regime that I have been planning since we got to the Capitol; _please_ let me be." Rachel snapped. Finn retreated back into his slouch and remained silent. He was called in too long after that in his opinion. When Rachel finally got to enter the Training Centre for the final time, the first thing she did was look up at the Gamemakers. Who were paying her absolutely no attention. So the first thing she did was grab the bow provided. From observing it obsessively over the three days she had noticed that the build of the bow was different to the kind she was used to. During her preparation she had decided as a method of getting to used the bow, she would fight someone with it. So she swung the bow once or twice before she stood before the Gamemakers properly.

"Rachel Berry; District 12." She said, loudly. The Gamemakers all slowly stopped talking and looked at her. So she quickly got the attention of a sparring instructor, who looked at her with the bow in her hand and nodded in understanding. After they both settled into an appropriate fighting position, Rachel swung forward, and the instructor ducked easily. The fight was reasonable, Rachel having the upper hand in the form of a weapon, the instructor in the form of experience. Until finally Rachel managed to loop her bow over the head of her opponent and drew it back before letting go suddenly, causing the body of the bow to smash into the instructors face. She looked up at the Gamemakers, many of whom had stopped watching during the fight. The four or five that had kept watching, however, gave a small applause, which drew the rest back to her. One even called for a medic. Rachel was happy with that reaction for the time being, so she expertly removed the bow from the neck of the instructor and grabbed two of the arrows while she still had the attention of the Gamemakers. Without further hesitation she slid one of the arrows into place and aimed, barely hesitating before she released the arrow, which struck the target not in the centre, but off-set ever so slightly, hitting the eye. She rolled and did the same again, hitting the other eye. She considered doing more, but instead decided to put the bow back, nod at the Gamemakers and walk out while she was still ahead. She just hoped her plan had worked.

* * *

Caesar Flickerman sat down at his desk and allowed his make up team to do final touch ups as the Scores were set out before him on his desk, each Tributes picture facing upwards and their score facing down. His make up team scattered as he got the countdown.

"4, 3, 2-" The cameraman pointed at Caesar who put on his most radiant smile.

"Hello Panem! It's time to announce the scores of the Tributes from their Training, and I for one am even _more_ excited than I was last year! As per usual we'll be running in a boy-girl-boy-girl pattern, from District 1, all the way down to District 12. But enough of me talking, let's get started!" He turned over the first card. "Jesse St James – 10!" He set it down and picked up the next card. "Quinn Fabray – 11! Oh my, how wonderful!" He turned over another card, announcing that Jake from District 2 had received an 8. "Kitty Wilde – 9!"

"Brody Weston – 8."

"Bree Brooks – 10!"

"Samuel Evans – 8."

"Brittany Peirce – 8."

"Elliot Gilbert – 5."

"Danielle Taylor – 6."

"Arthur Abrams – 3."

"Dottie Kazatori – 2."

"Noah Puckerman – 7."

"Santana Lopez – 8!"

"Tina Cohen-Chang – 3."

"Kurt Hummel – 5."

"Mike Chang – 4."

"Mercedes Jones – 3."

"Blaine Anderson – 7."

"Unique Adams – 2."

"Ryder Lynn – 4."

"Marley Rose – 2."

"Finn Hudson – 6." Caesar looked at the final card and picked it up.

"And finally, Rachel Berry – 10! My goodness! Wonderful score for an outlier District!" He set down the final card and looked directly into the camera. "Tune in tomorrow for the Tribute Interviews!" He beamed until the cameraman shouted cut.


	8. On The Fifth Night Some Things Happened

**Hi guys! The response to this story virtually _doubled_ after the last update which was _really awesome because I've been having the shittiest week ever._ Just count yourselves lucky that I've finished writing the whole thing already or it'd be _months_ before you got the next update. you can probably actually tell when I was writing this chapter, if you're a fan of Demi's. And the action starts soon, I promise!**

* * *

**Chapter Eight: And On The Fifth Night Some Things Happened**

Quinn was the first one out. Her dress was white, with lacy shoulders, skirt stopping at the top of her knees. She walked out onto the stage with her perfectly practised smile, and allowed Caesar to take her hand as she sat down.

"So, Quinn. You're certainly a crowd favourite this year! Isn't that right folks?" The crowd cheered as he gestured to them. She allowed her smile to widen slightly at the audience.

"So I guess we can all trust that I have a true fighter sitting next to me, Quinn, tell me about that eleven. How did you do it?" He asked.

"What did I do to get the eleven? Everything." Quinn answered, giving an 'honest' smile. She hated the audience. She hated her Stylist. She hated Caesar. But she was too close to fail now. Caesar laughed.

"Trying to keep something from me, I see!" He exclaimed. Quinn shook her head.

"Oh no, I did everything. Or, almost everything." She shrugged. "Everything sharp. Mostly knives." No point in hiding her area of expertise.

"Throwing knives?"

"Just knives." Quinn said. "If it's possible to be done with a knife, I can do it."

"I look forward to seeing what you can do. So, tell me about yourself Quinn, what's your family like?"

"You could not possibly have asked me about a less entertaining pair of people, Caesar." Quinn said, shaking her head.

"I'm sure you're only exaggerating."

"Oh, believe me, I'm not. The most interesting thing to happen to anyone in my family in the last twenty years was me volunteering." She said. "My mother and my sister are probably the most boring people in Panem."

"What about your father?"

"He had a small… Squabble with the peacekeepers when I was younger." Quinn answered. "So all I can really say about him is that he obviously wasn't the brightest."

"I see." Caesar tilted his head. "So tell me, are you going to win these Games?"

"I'll be the most surprised if I don't, trust me." Quinn flashed a short smile, keeping her eyes hard.

"Then I think I've placed my bets safely, aye?" He winked and looked towards the audience. "Quinn Fabray, everybody!" He helped her out of her chair and guided her down the stairs before he introduced Jesse.

* * *

Bree walked up to her seat and sat down, focusing on Caesar and not the roaring of the crowd in her ears.

"Caesar." She nodded.

"Bree! How are you?"

"Under the circumstances? Not too shabby."

"I see. You got quite a high score for such a young Tribute, wouldn't you agree?"

"I'd say so. I had a point to prove."

"To who?"

"A certain blonde who told me to be afraid of her." Bree said, her voice growing cold. "Who I intend to put in her place."

"I see. Well, moving on from there, what should we be expecting from you in the Games?"

"Expecting something from me will only end with you getting severely taken aback."

"I'll try not to make it a habit, then." He chuckled. Off the stage and to the side a bit Quinn was watching Bree's performance, grinding her teeth with rage. She felt a hand rest on her shoulder and shrugged Jesse away.

"I'm going to kill her."

"Q, you can't just-"

"I'm going to kill her, and that's the end of it." Quinn seethed. When Jesse didn't reply she looked over her shoulder at him to be greeted by his lopsided grin.

"Then I look forward to it, Q." He said. She narrowed her eyes for a moment before she grinned back, one of the only genuine facial expressions she had pulled since they had arrived in the Capitol.

* * *

Right before she went out onto the stage, Elliot grabbed her.

"Blue is _totally_ your colour." He winked. She grinned and walked out in front of the audience with a spring in her step. Her hair had been dyed blue for 'a striking punch', as Elliot had put it. And Dani guessed, from the audience's reaction, that he had been right yet again. She waved to them with a smile as they went ballistic over her hair, some even taking to chanting 'Blue! Blue! Blue!' as Caesar greeted her, pointing to his own hair and then hers.

"Are you trying to match me?" He asked, sitting back down. She chuckled and shook her head.

"I'm afraid not. It was actually Elliot's idea."

"Ah, your District partner. Did he design that dress you're wearing?"

"He certainly did. And the Chariot costumes as well."

"That's quite impressive."

"It is, he's really thrown himself into it."

"I take it you two will be in an alliance during the Games?" Caesar prompted. Dani barely even glanced at Quinn before she answered.

"Of course I will." She paused, and then added, "And if someone hurts him I'll kill them. I don't care if they could kill me eighty different ways with a spoon, if they hurt Elliot I _will_ kill them." She bit down on her tongue after that, hastily stopping the word vomit. She noticed that her hands had balled up into fists and carefully opened her palms back out again.

"Well I hope the Tributes were paying attention to that, you are no force to be reckoned with, Danielle-"

"Dani."

"-Dani Taylor." He nodded. "So, Dani, tell us about your life at home! We've heard head nor tail about your family!"

"That's because-" Dani bit her tongue again, this time to keep back a long and fairly unacceptable insult. "That's because my parents threw me out of the house a year ago." She pondered her statement for a moment before she continued. "I'd like it on record, if either of them come forward and start to tell the cameras stories about me, tell them to shove off. Because they're full of it."

"Why did you get thrown out, Dani, do tell!"

"There was a conflict of interest between me and them. They told me if I was going to… Think the things I was saying, then I couldn't live with them. So I left, and I never looked back, and I've been working as a plumber."

"And you're only seventeen?"

"I'll be turning eighteen in thirteen days."

"It's your birthday in thirteen days!?" Caesar sat up in his chair.

"Uh huh." Dani beamed.

"Well, happy birthday!" Caesar chirruped. Dani leaned forward, as though she intended to share a secret.

"How about you, me, and anyone else who's willing make a small deal." She said. Caesar jumped in his seat and leaned forward as well.

"What kind of a deal?"

"If I can make it to my birthday in one piece, I get a present. It can be big or small or useless or helpful depending on my performance, but if I make it there in one piece, I get a present." She said, and then leaned back. Caesar looked out to the crowd as he mimicked her movement.

"I think that sounds reasonable! What do you guys think?" The audience cheered back at him wildly. "Alright Dani, you have yourself a deal!" He reached out and shook her hand. "Dani Taylor, folks! I just _love_ her hair!"

* * *

Santana walked onto the stage with vendetta in her eye, only to be totally winded by the sheer volume of the audience. She strode down towards her chair and sat down, looking out to the audience with a look of mild horror on her face. It was haunting, the sea of colour she was confronted by.

"So, what do you think of the Capitol, Santana?" Caesar asked. She kept looking out over the crowd before she realised that she had been asked a question. She glanced at him before she looked back at the mass of people.

"Sorry, I totally missed your question. How do you not get distracted by this? Your hair and your outfits and your skin – it's all so ridiculous, I mean, you could bomb this place with confetti exclusively the favourite colours of the average five year old girl and it'd actually _improve_ your- You know what? I'm going to stop looking now." She pulled her gaze back to Caesar. "I could feel my brain cells committing mass suicide then, how do you _do_ it?" She noticed his shocked expression and narrowed her eyes. "Sorry, did I offend you? I assumed you had your fair share of people who didn't want to be here before."

"Oh I see, you're tough as nails, right?" Caesar laughed. "Alright then, Santana, tell me about your life back in District 7."

"It sucked."

"Is that so?" Caesar gave her a pitiful look, which Santana scoffed at.

"Oh, don't give me that. It had to have been crap if I _volunteered_ to be here. The only people who volunteer are trained or desperate. And seeing as I'm not the princess or one of her royal subjects, I'd say I'm pretty freaking desperate."

"Princess…?"

"Our resident Victor, Quinn Fabray of course. But let's not talk about her." Santana mocked gasped and pointed into the air in front of her.

"I know! Let's discuss my family life! Well, let's see, I have my mum and my dad who are both quite nice and respectable within District 7 but are both utterly terrified of my abuela." She made a face and corrected herself. "Grandmother." She crossed one leg over the other and waited for Caesar to react.

"Why are they frightened of your grandmother?"

"I'm not sure, to be honest." Santana replied, honestly. "But she hates me." Below the stage, Dani watched as she heard a certain sullenness enter Santana's voice that she had never heard before.

"Which is a shame, because I love my grandmother."

"Well, maybe if you win you can go home and tell her that." Caesar said, becoming solemn with her. Santana cracked a hopeless chuckle.

"I'm afraid… If I got home after the Games she would berate me for killing people instead of dying with dignity." She shrugged softly. "Though if I'm honest, I was always looking forward to the day that she would love me again." Behind the curtain on the side of the stage, Puck was watching in awe. Santana had never admitted this to anyone, not even him.

"I'm sure she still does Santana." Caesar said. Santana shook her head and laughed.

"I doubt it. But she might've one day. I figured I would tell you, because it's my last chance to admit it."

"That was very brave of you, Santana." He held his hand out to her and helped her to her feet.

"Santana Lopez everyone!"

* * *

Rachel was wringing her hands out off stage as Ryder Lynn finished up with Caesar.

"Should I go with charming and confident or shy and unexpected…"

"Why can't you just be you?" Rachel jumped at the sound of Finn's voice and rounded on him.

"Because I'm obviously not good enough to gain people's attention, or did you not notice my complete lack of friends back in 12?"

"Maybe if you just mingled with everyone a bit more-"

"Save it, Finn. Shy and unexpected it is." She nodded to herself and stepped out onto the stage, leaving Finn to watch as she performed. At this point the only other Tributes watching her were Bree, Dani, Santana, Elliot, Jesse and Quinn, all for very different reasons. Finn was frantically thinking about how he could possibly follow something as good as her act, while Bree was sizing up the only non-Career to match her score. Jesse was watching her under Quinn's order, who was internally warring with several different ways to proceed on the conundrum that was Rachel Berry. Because she sure as hell couldn't go into the Games with this mess before her. Dani and Santana were watching because they were trying to figure out why the girl hadn't taken Quinn's offer of an alliance. Puck and Elliot were watching because their District partners were, and when her interview was over, everyone drew away except for the young hunter and Quinn Fabray.

* * *

Up on the roof, Dani was alone. She had convinced Elliot that she was up there to think on her own, and though she really wasn't a huge fan of lying to him, she was worried about Quinn's opinion of whether he should know or not. So she was waiting up there, alone. She knew simply from looking at Santana's dress that it was going to take far longer to get out of than it had taken her to get out of Elliot's dress. She had noticed a small alcove behind the entrance to the lift so that she and Santana could remain out of sight to anyone else who chose to venture to the roof that night. Dani expected it to be busy up there. When the lift doors opened behind her and Santana walked through, she was grateful but didn't let it show on her face. She only grabbed the other girl's wrist and pulled her into the alcove. They both put their backs against the wall and sat down, tucking their knees into their chests. Santana broke the silence.

"Your hair looks amazing."

"I'm so scared." Dani whispered. Santana had already taken her hand, so she squeezed it.

"It's going to be okay."

"We're going to die."

"Yeah, sure we are. But it's going to be okay. And you're going to turn eighteen." Santana said. They kept looking out over the top of the Capitol, occasionally seeing a flash of light to accompany the sounds of celebration below them. Dani barked out a laugh and looked at Santana.

"You're right." She sighed. Santana shrugged and looked back at her.

"That's something you'll need to get used to in the next thirteen days."

"And after?" Dani said hopefully. Santana knocked their foreheads together.

"And after."

* * *

Down in the lobby, Kurt and Blaine were talking.

"So, the plan for the Bloodbath is to run, right?"

"Yup." Blaine confirmed.

"Just run?" Kurt asked.

"Find me, and run in the same direction that I do. We can sort things out from there. Use the supplies available to us."

"Don't we want weapons?" Kurt asked. Blaine shook his head.

"They shouldn't be necessary until later in the Games."

"And if one of us dies in the Bloodbath?" Kurt asked. Blaine shook his head.

"That won't happen if we run. It'll be fine." He put his hand on Kurt's shoulder. "It'll all be fine. Trust me." He concluded. Kurt gave him a weak smile.

"I'll see you tomorrow, then."

"You too."

* * *

"You know, it's strange how our District partner's always vanish at the same time." Puck said, walking up to Elliot, who only scoffed in response.

"Are you kidding? They're obviously in an alliance. I mean, I knew that already, I just don't know who the third person in the alliance is."

"Third person?"

"Mmhm. Dani clams up every time I try to ask her about it. Why are you talking to me?"

"Oh, no reason. I sort of assumed we'd be meeting up in the Games at some point. I just wanted to drop the warning, if you or Dani hurt San, I swear-"

"Oh god, I know. I know the speech, and the same goes for Dani. You can stop right there."

"Shake on it?" Puck asked. Elliot eyed him for a moment.

"Sure." They shook hands and headed their separate ways.

* * *

Dani had closed her eyes after Santana rested their heads together, which left Santana with her eyes wandering all over the other girl's face.

"What are you thinking about?" Santana asked. Dani blushed slightly, but kept her eyes shut.

"Nothing." She answered. "Nothing worth thinking about, at least."

"Tell me anyway?" Santana asked. Dani opened her eyes and was startled by realising how close they actually were.

"If I'd known you back in 5." Dani answered. "That's what I was thinking about." She watched Santana for a beat before she added. "What about you?"

"Hm?"

"What are you thinking about?" Dani asked. Santana blushed this time, and stuttered out and answer.

"It's really stupid. Like, that, that wasn't stupid but this? This is pretty stupid and I don't feel like sharing."

"I'm going to guess."

"Huh?" Santana squeaked. Dani grinned.

"I'm going to guess what you were thinking about." She said. Santana stayed stock still as Dani pecked her on the lips.

"I bet that's what you were thinking about." She said, her voice growing even softer. Before Santana could say anything, the plumber panicked and changed the topic, shifting so she was looking back over the Capitol.

"You never told me about your grandmother."

"My abuela. Yeah, she… She's a bit old fashioned, I suppose. See, Puck and I, we used to…" Santana searched for the right word. She was trying not to be hurt by Dani's extremely sudden shift in behaviour, but she'd be lying if she said it hadn't totally taken her by surprise. "We used to date, sort of." She furrowed her brow. "Really we used to sleep together, a lot, and one day I realised that I didn't want to anymore. He took it really well. Supported my decision- hell, he'd even suspected it before I really did. And my parents were cool with it, and everyone at school was really too frightened of me to say otherwise but…"

"Oh." Dani said. "I get it." Santana nodded and then looked back at her.

"Dani?"

"Hm?" Dani grunted, her voice an octave higher than usual.

"Just come here, would you?" And with that Santana pulled Dani in for another kiss.

* * *

Rachel knew from the second she walked into the lobby to find Quinn loitering around the lift, she wasn't going to make it past her. But, rather than give the blonde the satisfaction, she strode into the lift and barely gave her a second look when she followed her in. When she didn't press the twelfth floor button, Quinn chuckled.

"If you insist." She said, hitting the button for the roof. They rode up in silence and walked right up to the back of the roof, unaware of the couple just around the corner, ripping away from each other in shock of the sound of the lift opening, and carefully peaking out from behind the pillar.

"I don't feel like we should be watching this, San." Dani whispered. Santana sighed.

"Alright, fine." She submitted, pulling Dani back into the alcove. Across the rooftop, Quinn and Rachel sat down opposite each other, both obstructed from view by a potted plant. Rachel was keeping an air of disinterest about her, even though she had barely stopped thinking about the blonde in the previous four days.

"Why didn't you take the alliance?" Quinn finally asked. Rachel shrugged.

"Why should I have done what you wanted me to do?" Rachel scowled. "You know Quinn, I may be about to die, but I'm still a person. And _you_ might be about to kill a lot of people, you're still a person too."

"Rachel-"

"No, okay? I'll admit it; you scared me the other night. Like you _really terrified_ me, but then you started babbling about an alliance and threats and I decided that you were _completely_ insane but then I kept thinking about it, and you know what?" Rachel took a deep breath. "I think you're more scared than I am." Quinn's eyes widened.

"You think I'm what?" she released a laugh, while her mind whirred away, vying for control over the situation. She wasn't frightened, she wasn't afraid of anything. She was Quinn Fabray, next Victor of the Hunger Games. She'd trained for fifteen years to be a killer, to kill people, to make it look easy. "What on Earth do I have to be afraid of, Man Hands? Dying?"

"No. Why would you be afraid of that? No, you're afraid of killing."

"I'm sorry, I-"

"Let me speak. You're afraid of killing. Not the actual act of killing something, you have to be really comfortable with that at this point, no, you're afraid of finally being in the Hunger Games, and you're afraid of winning because you'll be nothing after that. You'll be the mentor to kids who trained just as hard as you did, you'll become nothing so quickly after all of this work. You're afraid that even after all of your effort you'll end up being _unremarkable._" Rachel hissed. Quinn narrowed her eyes.

"You're projecting."

"I'm what?"

"You're projecting. You're bouncing your fears off of me." Quinn smiled slightly. "And I nearly fell for it, too! Not bad, Berry, you may have some winning qualities in yourself yet." She commended. Rachel gaped at her before going red and snapping back at her.

"You know what I think, Quinn Fabray? I think you're right!"

"Huh?"

"I think you're right! I am afraid of winning, because I have worked my _whole freaking life_ to stay alive!" Rachel pushed herself onto her knees and started to advance on Quinn. "I have worked harder than you _ever_ did, because I have been on the line for my _entire life!_ No cushy training centres in District 12, _no_, I had to go and hunt for my breakfast everyday! I had to beg for money for _years_ before I could possibly go out and hunt on my own, and you know what? If I win, I'm scared of not needing to do that anymore, because I've never _had_ anything else!" She jabbed her finger right into Quinn's face before adding one final rejoinder. "But I _know_ that you are scared of exactly the same thing, but that doesn't frighten you as much as realising that we aren't so different!"

* * *

The silence around the two girls was deafening after Rachel's outburst. It was only after breathing deeply for a few moments when the shorter girl realised that Quinn's hand was clasped around her wrist, and that Quinn was giving her a look that made Rachel sort of wish she was able to jump off the building to get away from.

"Quinn, you're hurting me." The words the Rachel finally settled on probably weren't the brightest. Quinn only made her grip tighter. Rachel winced and tried to pull away.

"Now it's your turn to listen to me, okay? Okay. You and I, we are not alike. I am at the top of the ladder, and you are at the bottom. In fact, you are _so low down_, you can't even reach the ladder. And yet, for some reason, I _cannot stop_ thinking about you." She sat up and bared her teeth at Rachel. "So, if you've been _thinking_ about this so much, you shouldn't have _any_ issues with telling me why that is." Rachel whimpered and Quinn snarled right back at her. "I came up here with you because I was going to try and be _nice_ to you, and then you started to spew some _crap_ about us being alike, so please, tell me! Tell me _exactly why_ I can't get you out of my head!" She let go of Rachel's wrist but kept her glower at full force. She didn't have to take this. She didn't have to take anything. And, even so, she could bring herself to do anything more than that.

"You know what really scares me, Rachel?"

"W-What?"

"I don't want to hurt you." Quinn answered, her stare unwavering. Rachel frowned for a moment before she bit her lip.

"I'm going to do something now. Please don't kill me for it." And with that, Rachel lent down and pulled Quinn into a hug. Quinn flinched instinctively and stopped breathing until Rachel reached up and ran her fingers through the blonde's hair.

"Tonight, it's okay." Rachel murmured. "Tomorrow, you might kill me, but tonight? Tonight it's okay." Rachel relaxed once Quinn's arms wrapped around her stiffly.

"I'm still going to kill you, you know."

"Maybe not." Rachel answered. "Maybe you won't need to. Maybe you won't want to." She felt Quinn tense and decided to stop talking, lest they started shouting at each other again.


	9. The Bloodbath

**A/N: Here it is, guys, the chapter we've all been waiting for! Get ready for action!**

* * *

**Chapter Nine: The Bloodbath**

Brody and Bree were up, and ate breakfast before Cassandra got out of bed. So when she staggered into the front room, Brody and Bree were already standing to attention.

"Are you ready for this?"

"Yes, Cassie." They answered in unison.

"And you know the plan?"

"Ally up, topple the Careers, flatten the competition." They said together.

"And then we fight to the death." Bree added. Cassandra smirked at her.

"That's right, my little Victor. Brody, try not to let her kill you."

"I'll do my best."

"It won't be enough, donkey face." Bree said, staying expressionless and looking straight ahead.

"Alright, kids. Let's go." The pair followed Cassandra out of the apartment dutifully.

* * *

Will accompanied Rachel on her lift ride to where the helicopter was going to pick her up.

"Rachel, I understand that you can take care of yourself, just remember this." He said, turning towards her and resting his hand on her shoulder. "You can win this. I know you can. It's been a long time since I last had a Tribute who had such a good chance of winning. Prove me right." Rachel nodded and walked over to the helicopter, to be seated in front of Quinn. Rachel went to make eye contact with the blonde, but wasn't surprised to find that she was determinedly not looking in her direction, instead opting to do a final check up on Santana and Dani before the beginning of the Games. Quinn then looked to Jesse, who was sitting next to her.

"You were wrong at the Reaping, you know." She said. He tilted his head at her.

"Oh was I? About what?"

"_Today_ is the big day, St. James. The Reaping barely counted as a warm up."

"I suppose you're right. But then again, the Reaping was the start of the fun, right?"

"I'd say you were right about that."

"Would you two be quiet?" It was the boy from District 9, who was scowling at them fiercely. Quinn was pretty sure that his name was Mike Chang. She was about to say something when Jesse lunged at him in his chair, causing the other boy the flinch away. Jesse leant back and howled with laughter.

"Too _easy!_ Watch out boy, I've got my eye on you." Jesse grinned; slamming his fists against his arm rests. Quinn smirked at the boy and noticed a certain gleam in his eye that she had only seen once or twice before.

"J."

"What is it, Q?"

"Save it for the Bloodbath." She said. He frowned slightly before nodding and leaning back in his chair.

* * *

Dani decided that she didn't like the walk from the helicopter to the room she would stay in before she rose up into the Arena. She was stuck in the middle of four peacekeepers and every time she walked past a room she thought maybe it was the right one, but no, there was always more walking to do. When she finally got guided into a room she had to get changed again before she could have a few final mouthfuls before she potentially starved to death.

She decided to stop thinking about that.

Instead she thought about what she and Santana were going to do once they got into the Arena. With any luck the four of them – her, Elliot, Santana and Puck – could team up until the Career pack disbanded and Quinn joined them. She nearly laughed at that thought. As if that would ever happen. She'd be lucky to make it through the Bloodbath. So instead she had one final bite of her bread roll and stepped into the chute. When the floor started to lift her up she jumped but remembered Adam's instruction to not move unless she really felt like being blown up. She shielded her eyes, vaguely recalling Tributes at the beginning of previous Hunger Games being startled by the light of the Arena.

* * *

Santana hadn't had the same forethought as Dani and was reduced to blinking blindly as her eyes focused on the Cornucopia in front of her. And yet, there it was with a giant timer hanging over the mouth of the metal monstrosity, counting down the last 80 seconds before the Games started. She noticed that the only things in the Cornucopia were weapons, but it was more of a fleeting observation than a conscious thought, having been distracted by the giant lake behind the Cornucopia.

"San!" She heard a hiss beside her and looked to see a flash of blue hair.

"Dani?"

"Look behind you." Dani said, already twisting and viewing the Arena behind them. Santana realised in that moment that the Tributes had been organised in a semi circle facing away from the bulk of the Arena for a reason, because when she looked she found an entire city waiting for her. It was in nowhere near as good condition as the Capitol was, but she was willing to take a bet that it was in better condition than any of the Districts. She glanced back at the clock to see that they had forty-five seconds to go.

"Dani?"

"Yeah, San?"

"Good luck."

"You too." Dani smiled softly before they both looked back over the cobbled ground between them and the Cornucopia.

* * *

"Adam, what are our girls up to?" Holly Holiday said, sitting on the arm of one of the couches that littered the floor of the common room the mentors could watch the Hunger Games from with the best view in the country, so that they could each watch their Tribute's progress uninterrupted and make deals with sponsors accordingly. She had already zeroed onto Santana, having noticed that she was interacting with the girl beside her.

"I honestly don't know, but that may explain why she was spending so much time on the roof."

"Are you saying that our girls did the dirty up there?"

"No, no, of course not. Look at the way they're looking at each other. That's not sex, trust me."

"Oh, I don't have to Crawford. I know my stuff." She winked at him. "Remind me why I haven't given you a crash course yet?"

"Would you two save it? Some of us are actually taking our job seriously." Sue interrupted them, to be scoffed at by Holly.

"I hate to disappoint you, Sylvester, but Santana has _totally_ got this in the bag."

"Maybe last year she could've done it, but this year my two are strong." Sue snapped back.

"Excuse me, guys, but don't forget how well Rachel did in her Private Training."

"Buttchin, butt out and let us real contenders talk." Sue barked.

"I hate to break it to all of you, but my kids are going to destroy this Hunger Games." Cassandra said from behind the bar. Shelby Corcoran got up from her chair at the back of the room and walked up to the front, making most of the other mentors stop talking.

"I suggest, once the Bloodbath is over, we place a friendly bet. My two this year have potential but are hideously overshadowed, so I have no troubles in mediating this year." She said. Each mentor nodded to her, not daring to cross her. Shelby had done some scary things in her Hunger Games, and her subdued but intense nature scared the living daylights out of the other Victors. Sue Sylvester and Cassandra July included. They could all clearly remember the year she had dealt with Sebastian Smythe. The arrogant boy had treated her so rudely that she somehow – behind the backs of the other mentor's that year to make matters more ominous – coerced the majority of the Tributes into banding together and forcing him to spend his entire Games awake, until finally that year's Victor (who was not mentoring this year) had found him and killed him in a manner that was so unique and grotesque the other Victors just _knew_ that it had been of her concoction. As a result, most of the people involved in the Hunger Games avoided any situation that could aggravate the District 4 Victor.

"But, for now, we have a mass murder to watch."

* * *

Puck was off his pedestal barely half a second after the siren sounded. He had already spotted Santana, but had also glimpsed not one, but _two_ axes just in front of him. He prioritised those first, and scooped them up just soon enough to see the girl from 12 aiming her bow and arrow at Santana, who was grabbing a green backpack.

"No." he hissed, sprinting towards her. He could see he wasn't going to get there in time, so he did the only thing that he could think of that made sense. He threw the axe at the air just in front of her head. The handle of the axe just barely but somehow still managed to knock the shaft of the arrow, making it veer off its course. He ran up to Santana as the blade of the axe was buried into the back of the girl from District 4, but he didn't notice that as he grabbed Santana's wrist and started pulling her away from the thick of the fight. They ran down a path away from the fight, which appeared to be taking place in the centre of a park, and down a street, then a side alley. They both leaned against the wall and breathed out in unison.

"You nearly hit me with an axe." Santana finally said.

"You nearly got skewered. I did you a favour." He grabbed the backpack, swung it over his shoulders and handed her the axe before he peeked out from behind the wall.

"Coast's clear. Come on."

"Where are we going?"

"We want as much distance between us and them as possible." Puck said. "Let's cross." They trotted across the road and wound through an empty lot with white painted lines on the ground at measured intervals.

"What do you think these are for?" Santana asked. Puck shrugged.

"Storage maybe? Maybe you could keep something in one of the spaces or something." They moved into the next street over and kept walking until they passed a door that opened on it's own as they went past. They both whirled around to make sure that they weren't being followed before they looked more closely at the door.

"Automatic…" Santana murmured. "Come on, let's go inside."

* * *

Quinn was in her element. She had honestly never felt so in control. She didn't exactly _enjoy_ the feeling of killing people, but she felt a certain sense of accomplishment when she did. No, what she truly relished was the sense of being a pool of calm in a stormy ocean. Only three metres to her right was Jesse, beating the life out of the boy from 9 just as he had promised. Quinn had eliminated the girl from the same District, someone Jones, and she could see Jake on the other side of the pavilion, standing over the boy from District 11. She knew that he had already killed the girl from 8 towards the start of the Bloodbath. Quinn started to walk towards the Cornucopia when she stepped in the smashed remains of a girl's head. From what Quinn could tell, it was that Marley girl from 11. She nodded and glanced at Kitty, who was in the middle of slitting another girl's throat. This girl was Dottie, from District 6, and Quinn guessed that Kitty had also been the one to kill Marley. It wasn't Jesse's style of kill and she knew that Jake had spent the entire Bloodbath on the other side of the Cornucopia. Quinn continued towards the mouth of the Cornucopia and stopped next to Brittany's body. She narrowed her eyes at the axe and peered into the Cornucopia to find Sam holding up the weedy boy from 6, Artie. A second later he snapped the smaller boy's neck and walked out to join Quinn in observing Brittany's corpse.

"Shame." Quinn sneered. Sam's fists were clenched.

"I've known her since we were little kids." He grunted. "We trained together at the centre. Our skills were meant to compliment each others or something." He said. Quinn tried to think of something to say for a moment before she realised that she didn't care.

"_That's more like it._" She thought, moving past Sam and digging through the weapons for the throwing knives she liked. When she was finished and the cannons still hadn't fired she went back out and sighed at Jesse.

"Would you just kill him?" She snapped. Jesse growled and crushed the boy's windpipe, then got off of him and brushed himself off. Quinn took a moment to notice that the girl from 10 had also been killed, most likely by Sam. The Careers all stood still as they counted out the blasts of the cannon.

"One, two, three, four…" Quinn furrowed her brow and counted with the cannon. "Nine." She nodded again. "Fifteen left."

* * *

Rachel had run. She had witnessed her spectacularly unlikely failure at killing someone whom she hadn't really wanted to kill that much but had happened to be the only person standing still. She had witnessed her unlikely failure and seen Jesse St. James coming in her direction – she had realised seconds later he was actually going for the boy standing off to her left – and had found Quinn watching but not acting in her favour, or at all. So, she ran like hell. She had run with her bow in one hand and her quiver in the other, and she hadn't looked back. In her running she had stumbled across a set of stairs, so she jogged down them and stopped for the first time since the Games started. She was standing in an underground cavity, with turnstiles just in front of her. The walls and floor were tiled in a distinct pattern that Rachel assumed would've been nicer if the tiles hadn't looked so worn. She slipped her quiver over her shoulder – she had fifteen arrows – and knocked an arrow onto her bowstring, pointing it towards the floor as she jumped the turnstiles. She wandered down another set of stairs and looked around. The walls were covered in graffiti; there were some machines that dispensed _food_ of all things, and a few benches to sit on. On either side of the platform she was standing on there was a drop to a set of tracks. She recognised the design of the tracks from the annual school trips down into the mines. She frowned and looked around.

"People come here to wait for something. But what, a mining cart?" Before she could keep looking around there was a crash from the floor above her and she instinctively crouched and aimed at the top of the stairs she had just come down. She stayed there for she didn't know how long, but she didn't trust herself to move. At any moment, whatever it was that was following her could drop down those stairs and kill her. She wasn't taking the chance. So she remained crouched, long after she had counted the nine cannon blasts. When she finally did stand straight again and release the tension on her bow, she was startled by a gust of wind coming from one end of the tunnel that the tracks led to. She raised her bow again, only to lower it when a train whizzed past, slowed down, and finally came to a stop. The doors hissed open once the train had completely stopped, and the fluorescent lights on the inside of the train beckoned to her. She took one final look over her shoulder and walked in. The doors hissed shut again and the train started to move. She looked around it; surprised by how different the interior was to the only other train she had ever ridden on. There was a railing for her to hold onto, and two benches facing towards the inside of the train carriage to her right. To her left was two sets of stairs, each only four steps, one leading down and one leading up. She ventured to both levels to find identical rows of seats.

"Chairs… Why only chairs?" She pondered, making her way along the aisle to the other side of the carriage, where she was in a room identical to where she had first entered the train. She could see a long way down the train in both directions from where she was standing, so she decided to sit down, knowing there was no immediate danger.

"The whole train is seats. Which would mean…" She scowled at the floor and had a fleeting thought on how much easier it would be to understand the purpose of the train if Quinn had been there. "Which would mean it's for taking large groups of people places." She bit her lip. "And there's no food or water, which means the trips are normally short." As if it could hear her words, the train halted and the doors opened. She jumped out of the doors and scanned the new place, now in a completely different part of the city. She climbed the stairs and looked around at the new area she was in. The stairs had led right to the entrance of a building that had the doors open, as though it'd been waiting for her. She walked in, weaved through some tables with clean, white tablecloths on them and into the back. She entered possibly the biggest kitchen she had ever seen.

Back in the first train station, Finn was standing on the platform, looking around to try and figure out where Rachel had vanished.

* * *

**A/N: Um, just in case anyone hasn't figured this out yet, you should be expecting some major character death in the coming chapters.**

**Also, there are eighteen chapters altogether, so we've officially reached halfway!**


	10. Vices & Virtues

**A/N: The increase in views on the story per day is actually steadily getting higher, that's so cool! :D**

* * *

**Chapter Ten: Vices & Virtues**

Not only had Bree bailed on Brody almost immediately, she'd also tried to kill him. He knew that she was going to try and kill him at some point, but right away? That was slightly uncalled for. He kept limping along the grass, having found that the park beside the lake stretched on for quite a long way. He chuckled vapidly.

"Guess things already aren't going our way, Cassie." He groaned, veering left and exiting the park. Maybe he could find some supplies in the city. After a few minutes of looking around he had deduced that most of the supplies needed were going to be available in the city at various key locations.

Maybe he could find a notepad and pen to map it out.

He had initially returned to the park because the grass was easier on his feet, and had seen the rest of the Tributes going into the city. This excluded the Careers, but he knew they must've been miles away now. So he hobbled to the first shop, which had a sign hanging over it that read 'CHEMIST'. He didn't know what that meant, but when he went inside and looked around, he couldn't help but grin at his good fortune. The store was full of medical supplies.

* * *

Holly was hiding behind the bar with April Rhodes, both of them laughing hysterically. They had taken it when Cassandra had gone to her room in the suite to swear loudly about 'trusting that fucking poison fifteen-year-old prodigy'. Of course, all of the mentors had heard every word of their outburst, and few were restrained about how entertaining they thought it was. Most of them had, in fact, volunteered to mentor that year once they had learnt that Cassandra July was taking another stab at the mentoring gig. You would assume that those who had no choice would be more subdued, if anything, but April was the most raucous of the onlookers. Probably because she was drunk, but Holly was the next most vocal about her entertainment and she was most certainly sober. It was a sort of unspoken understanding among the mentors. None of the mentors were allowed to drink once the Games started unless one of their Tributes died. If one of their kids died, they were permitted one drink every two hours if they so wished. When they were both dead, the mentor could drink to their heart's content.

April Rhodes had been a mentor for a very long time.

Even Shelby was chuckling softly at Cassandra's behaviour, which left Emma and Will as the only people not smiling. They were talking with each other quietly, about what they could do for their Tributes. Once they had all calmed down a bit, Shelby spoke up again.

"Holly, are you in on the bets? Your two seem strong this year."

"I'll be out in a minute, I'm just getting Shannon a drink. Burt, Isabelle, do you guys want one?" She started pouring Shannon's whiskey. "Shelby, how about you?"

"I'll pass." Burt grunted.

"I shouldn't. I'm handling the money, and _some_ people," she glanced at Sue, "Might not like that."

"Alright," Everyone's attention was pulled to Cassandra as she stalked into the room. "It's time for the bets."

"Uh, Holly?"

"Just a sec, Will."

"No, Holly, I think your kids are in trouble." Will insisted. Holly stopped topping up April's drink and looked at the monitors showing Puck and Santana's progress.

"Oh fuck."

* * *

Dani and Elliot were trudging along the outskirts of the city, discussing their options.

"I'm telling you, these jackets aren't going to be warm enough for us to sleep outside tonight." He insisted.

"Then why would we have them? How can you even tell?" Dani snapped back. "Why wouldn't our clothes be enough to make it through the night? It's not like they want us to _freeze_ to death."

"Dani, she's fine."

"_What?_" Dani snapped, tensing reflexively.

"I'm telling you, Santana is fine. You should stop worrying about her. I saw her running away from the fight with Puck, and you saw her too. She's fine. No cannons have fired since the Bloodbath, which means that she's still alive. Stop taking out your stress on me."

"I can't believe it."

"What?"

"I challenged your opinion on _clothing_. Of course I'm wrong." Dani shook her head. "Geez, I'm acting like an asshole. You're totally right, El. She's fine." They stopped to look down the street they were walking past, to see what supplies they could scrounge from the stores. The store that caught Dani's eye had a tent in the window.

"Let's check that one." She said, pointing. They checked around to make sure they weren't being followed, yet again, and ran across to the store. Elliot pushed the door open and they wandered in, looking around at what they could take.

"This one." Dani said, pointing at a small-ish looking tent. "Can you find one that's packed up?" She called.

"Yeah! Hey, do you think we should grab some cold weather clothes?"

"Elliot, why would we need cold weather clothes?" Dani said, scanning the shelves for the right tent.

"Because even in a tent, we'll freeze tonight without extra clothes. I'll grab some jumpers, okay?"

"Dark ones, El." Dani grunted, knowing what Elliot was like. She got a dismayed moan in response.

"Fine. I'm sacrificing my fashion sense for you."

"I'm saving your ass." She grabbed the right tent and waited for Elliot by the front door. He walked up with two dark grey, fleece jumpers in one hand and a black backpack in the other. She stuffed the tent into the bag and took the jumper he handed her.

"I know you like them to be a little too big, but that one is going to be exactly the right size for practicality's sake." He said, pulling his jacket off and pulling his jumper on. "That okay?"

"Of course." She mimicked his actions and finished by pulling her jacket back on. "And if it makes you feel any better, you look badass in that colour." Dani shouldered the backpack and the pair walked out of the store. They were halfway back to the edge of the city when the ground rumbled. They twisted and looked back at the city to see one of the buildings – one of the _tall_ buildings – nearer the Cornucopia collapsing on itself. Dani and Elliot stayed still until the rubble had settled, Dani gripping Elliot's wrist tightly. When no cannons sounded, both teens relaxed visibly. Elliot turned around and tugged Dani to follow him.

"No cannons. She's fine."

* * *

Puck and Santana were walking through a supermarket. They could really only look around in wonder, because they'd never even _imagined_ something as novel as a store where you could walk in and choose any food you wanted to buy and take home. The notion was simply ridiculous.

"You know, they've done some wacky stuff in the Hunger Games, but they really must've been digging deep to think up something this stupid." Santana said. Puck sniggered.

"Do you think people actually used these things?"

"I seriously can't imagine it at all." Santana said. They looked at the ceiling as some dust fell from the rafters.

"That doesn't look good." Puck said. They grimaced at each other for a beat before the ground shook beneath them, sending them both into the shelves on either side of them. They grabbed on blindly to the shelves as jars rattled and toppled off, smashing on impact with the ground, spilling olives under their feet.

"_Out!_" Puck roared, pushing Santana away from the pool of olive oil, slipping out on his own seconds later. "Go!" He shouted, grabbing a jar and hurling it through the window directly between them and the street. Santana jumped through the window and stopped for a moment to watch Puck dive after her and roll once he hit the ground, holding the backpack to his chest. He got to his feet in the same motion and pulled Santana back in front of him.

"Don't stop!" He hollered, stumbling as the building collapsed behind them, making the ground shake more violently. They were about a block away when they stopped. They ducked behind a wall so the debris wouldn't hit them and both dropped to the ground, breathing heavily.

"That," Santana wheezed.

"Sucked." Puck finished.

* * *

Holly slapped her knee and stood up, pointing at the other mentors triumphantly.

"What'd I say!" She grinned at Sue. "What did I say, Sylvester! They've _got_ this!" She leaned down to Will and high-fived him.

"C'mon Shelby, give us the betting rules! Let's get this ball rolling!"

* * *

Back at the Cornucopia, Quinn had noticed a problem.

"Jesse, come take a look at this."

"Q, a building was just _demolished._" Jesse said, standing with the other Careers, watching the city in awe. Quinn glared at the back of his head.

"There was no cannon, so I don't care. Now come take a look at this, I need a second set of eyes."

"As if you need my help." Jesse muttered, standing beside her. "What is it?"

"What's wrong with this picture?" She asked, gesturing at the neat arrangement of supplies that she had just ordered. He scratched the side of his head for a moment before he folded his arms.

"No tent?"

"It's more than that." Quinn murmured. "There's maybe two days worth of food here for all of us." She narrowed her eyes. "We have all the weapons we could possibly ever need, but no extra clothes. No medical supplies. Nothing to protect us from the weather. Oh, and the biggest problem? We have a lake, but nothing to purify water with." Quinn looked at Jesse. He tucked his hands in his pockets and looked back at her.

"What's your angle?" He asked. She turned around and looked at the city carefully. She folded her arms and pursed her lips.

"We have to go in there. So, here's the real question, do we go look for somewhere to base our camp there and leave the weapons we don't use primarily over here, so anyone can get them, or do we go in there and have a steady supply of food, water and other things we may need?"

"Should we ask the others?"

"Pfft, no. This isn't their game."

"True. Why can't we set up close to the Cornucopia?" Jesse asked. Quinn rolled her eyes.

"There's only one place in the city that's close enough for us to be able to protect the Cornucopia effectively. I really doubt all the supplies that we're going to need will be there."

"Why don't we go out in groups and get supplies when we need them?"

"I don't trust Jake as far as I could throw Sue Sylvester, and I trust Kitty even less. Sam is probably too incompetent to do anything other than swim and use that trident of his."

"And we can't split off with one of us here and one of us out there?" Jesse asked. Quinn laughed drily.

"Because I don't trust you as far as I could throw you, J."

"That's quite a long way."

"It is. At least four times as much as anyone else here. But that doesn't mean I trust you."

"Fair enough." He folded his arms. "So what's the plan, Q?"

"We'll stay." She said. "For now."

"And hunting?"

"We'll hunt when we have any solid evidence on the location of other Tributes." Quinn said.

"Sounds great."

"You should tell those two the deal. I'm going to start a fire, it's getting dark."

* * *

Kurt and Blaine's plan had worked perfectly. Running from the fight had been the perfect thing for them to do, because they were now entering the lobby of an apartment block. They climbed the stairs together and chose the first room on their left. When they looked around properly, they found that the lights worked, but the TV didn't, the fridge was full of food, the bathroom was fully functional and the medicine cabinet had supplies. They found that heating worked as well, and the beds didn't hurt them when they lay down in them.

"Well Kurt," Blaine smiled. "I think we've done quite well for ourselves." He said, dropping onto the sofa in front of the TV.

"I couldn't agree more, Blaine." Kurt beamed, sitting down beside him. They both jumped when the TV turned on and the Capitol's anthem played as Panem's emblem appeared on the screen. It listed the dead Tributes and switched off again.

"That's convenient."

* * *

Rachel spent hours in that kitchen. She had put a snare at the front door _and_ the back one, in case anyone decided to interrupt her. She had cooked herself a proper dinner and took the time she needed to process that she had miraculously come across a kitchen that was bigger than her entire house. But now it was time for her to find somewhere safe for the night, and having seen an entire building simply fall out of the sky, she chose to retreat to the train again. She figured no one would bother with it for the first night, seeing as you had to time it correctly to even be aware that there _was_ a train in the Arena. There was a third stop after the Cornucopia and the kitchen, which Rachel found was a _gigantic_ winter weather protection outlet. She counted that as strange, but decided she was too tired to decide anything on the matter now. So she trudged back down the stairs, jumped the turnstiles and stepped onto the next train that arrived. She walked all the way down to the back of the train and settled onto one of the seats for the night, her bow in her hand and an arrow knocked at the ready.

* * *

Seneca Crane was having a hard time. Polls had shown that the Capitol was looking for a longer Hunger Games this year, but they still wanted action. He knew he had to do something about the three distinct pairs in the group of Tributes, but this was easier said than done. The pair from 12 and the pair from 3 were the only kids acting on their own, but the girl from 12 had taken to the trains, which were the only properly safe things in the Arena and the boy from 12 had managed to find a blind spot in the cameras without meaning to, so Seneca knew where he was, but he couldn't _see_ the boy. The girl from District 3 was providing to be the most interesting at the moment. She was lurking around the Career's camp, still gripping her mace like a lifeline. Seneca could see that conflict was inevitable there, but from her Private Training he also knew that she was _way_ too smart to just charge in and try to kill them all. Which left him the boys from 8 and 10, District 5, and District 7. He could see that District 7 was closest to the Careers, and that if District 5 kept using the route they had been, they would cross roads with 8 and 10, if Seneca could get them in the right place at the right time. So he could drive the Careers towards District 7 tonight, but he was certain that Quinn would pull them back to the Cornucopia to protect the weapons. He clicked his tongue and made a decision.

"Get me a close up of 7." He said, tapping one of his workers on the shoulder. "Light it up."

* * *

Santana and Puck had not had a great day, all things considered. They chose to stop in an underground building for the night, which looked like nothing more than a nicely decorated bar. They ducked behind the counter and finally opened the green backpack. Inside they found some beef jerky, which they both quickly shared half each, and one parka.

"Why the hell would we want a jacket?" Puck growled, tearing some jerky into his mouth. Santana held it and frowned.

"It was kinda cool outside, right?"

"Yeah. Why does it matter? Nowhere near cold enough for that thing." He said. Santana's frown deepened.

"Why would we have it though?"

"It's probably just one of those dud supplies we get, don't get your panties in a twist." They stopped talking after that, concentrating on eating their food and finding a comfortable position to go to sleep in. They both froze when the lights turned on.

"You didn't lean on a switch, did you Noah?"

"Did you, Lopez?" They stayed stock still for a moment, before Santana stuffed the parka back into the bag and grabbed all of the snack food she could reach – in plastic wrappers, she would never understand this place – and stuffed it into the bag as Puck got to his feet and grabbed the axe. "Fuck this day!" she hissed, jumping over the bar and scrambling up the stairs, Puck hot on her heels. They emerged from the bar to find the entire street lit up in the dark.

"What are they doing!?" Puck snarled. Santana looked around wildly for a moment before it clicked.

"Signalling the Careers." She ran a hand through her hair and let out an exasperated breath. "Which way is the Cornucopia?"

"I don't know! Why does it matter?"

"That's the direction they're going to come from, numbnuts!" As if answering her words they immediately heard a collection of whoops and shouts echoing through the city, getting closer to them.

"Which way!" Santana was on the verge of total panic when she saw Quinn round the corner she was facing, pause for a beat and point away from the direction she came in. Santana grabbed Puck's wrist and pulled him where Quinn was pointing. They sprinted around the corner as Sam dashed around the other one, just soon enough to see Puck vanishing around the corner. He lunged forward again but Quinn stopped him. He fought against her grip blindly, waving his trident in the air.

"Let me go, Quinn, let me go! He killed Britt! I saw him!" He screamed. Quinn rolled her eyes and flipped him over her shoulder and onto the ground expertly.

"For god's sake, think for a second. We left the weapons unguarded and those two are going to run for it." Quinn said. She honestly didn't care about Puck or Sam, but she had made a deal with Santana and she'd be damned if she would break her word.

Besides, she never told the Careers she was allied to them. They assumed she was by nature. The only one who was aware of Quinn's loose ties to the group was Jesse, and he couldn't talk because he had exactly the same mindset as Quinn on the matter. But he did enjoy killing people more than she did.

"Can't we chase them anyway? We could catch them, no problem. We're faster and they're more worn out."

"And the further from the Cornucopia we get, the more time _Bree_ has to steal our shit." She looked down at Sam, who was still lying on the ground breathing heavily. "You can get him tomorrow." She added, before stepping over him and signalling for Kitty and Jake to turn around.

* * *

Bree didn't bother to hang around the Cornucopia when the Careers left. She had what she needed, nothing more, nothing less. She did, however, pass by and grab a rag so that she could wipe the blood off her mace. It was simple, sleek, and she should've been able to kill Brody with it when she first tried to. Since then she had decided that going for the one move she had perfected probably wasn't the best idea seeing as Brody knew her entire fighting style inside out and backwards. Naturally when she had gone to shatter his kneecap he'd brought his shin up and escaped before she could do anything else to him in the thick of the fight. She'd get him next time though. She followed the Career pack silently, vaguely remembering what Cassandra had told her.

"_Strike the weak points and the structure will crumble._" Bree followed behind Kitty and Jake carefully, sticking to areas where she could hide from them if they chose to look back at any point, which they did a few times. When they stopped, she slipped into a shop and watched carefully as they made their way back to the Cornucopia, observing Quinn scan her surroundings. There was one moment where she was convinced that she was busted, because Quinn was staring intently in her direction with the other Careers, but after sharing a word with Jesse they kept on walking.

Bree was going to _kill her._


	11. Blasted Cannons

**A/N: Okay, so, I know the chapter is early, but that's because I'm really busy this afternoon and my school internet doesn't like the website for whatever reason, but next chapter will be up right back on track! Thanks again to Tasteless Rain for being a great beta, and you guys should definitely check out her Dantana story Stay if you haven't already. **

* * *

**Chapter Eleven: Blasted Cannons**

"What the actual living fuck, Santana?" Puck whispered, spit flying from his mouth in his aggression. "Explain to me why the _fucking hell_ we just had our asses saved by _Quinn freaking Fabray_ of all people!"

"Keep it down, Puck, the Careers aren't the only people in the city." Santana deadpanned.

"San! I promised your mum that I'd keep you safe, stop making that harder than it needs to be and _tell me what just happened!_"

"Okay, fine!" Santana exclaimed. "I have an alliance with her and Dani."

"What about me?" Puck said, his voice losing its vigour. Santana shook her head.

"I don't know. I'm not even sure what's happening about it now. I think she's going to find me and Dani when the Career pack dissolves or something. For now she's just keeping them off our backs."

"And what about me and Elliot?" Puck asked. Santana arched an eyebrow at him.

"What do _you_ know about Elliot?"

"Oh, as if we weren't going to notice that our best friends were up to something. What do you take us for?" Puck growled. Santana jabbed her finger in his chest.

"What did you talk to him about?"

"We called a truce! I won't hurt Dani and he won't hurt you. Now come on, Quinn may have them held back for now but we still need somewhere to stay for the night."

* * *

"My Quinn would _never_ have made an alliance with your girls!" Sue was shouting so loudly that the rafters were shaking, but it was all Holly could do to keep a straight face. Adam was sitting next to her, slightly more shaken by her outburst, but every now and then Holly would nudge him as if to say that she knew it was his first time working in the same area as Sue, and that he shouldn't let himself get intimidated.

"What did you do!?" She pointed viciously at Adam and Holly decided that she'd had enough.

"Okay, okay, look. If there's a person in this room who isn't aware that Quinn Fabray is the smartest person in those Games, I'm sure you know now. My guess is that she saw something valuable in our girls and decided to take advantage of it." She paused for a second to gather her thoughts. "It's obvious, isn't it? She's going to split off from the Careers and meet with San and Danielle-"

"Dani." Adam said.

"With San and Dani and they're not going to try and kill her because she could overpower them in a heartbeat! They must've done something damn good in Training, because she's obviously protecting San."

"Would you all relax a little bit and stop shouting?" April called. "It's not even the second day yet!" She hiccupped. Holly nodded firmly and sat back down beside Adam.

* * *

The next morning, Dani woke up cold and wet. She groaned and rolled over, into Elliot, who groaned back at her.

"Why are you _wet?_" he said, his voice thick with sleep.

"Let me out of the tent and I'll tell you, cause I have an idea." She sat up and shook herself awake before she unzipped the tent and crawled into the open.

"Whoa, yeah. I was right." She said. Elliot frowned and crawled after her, to see what she was looking at. The grass they had pitched their tent on was covered in dew, as was their tent. "I was resting against the side." Dani mumbled, looking up at the city. They were far enough away from the buildings to receive the full affect of the way fog was encompassing the entire city. Even though the sun was up, everything had a gloomy feeling to it and the air was heavy with the condensation. Dani reached out for their backpack and pulled her jumper out.

"Why didn't you sleep with that on?" Elliot asked. "You're going to get sick if you aren't careful. That'd be a lame way to go."

"It's a good thing I didn't, or it'd be soaked." Dani grumbled, pulling it on and hugging her arms to her chest. "It's definitely colder than it was yesterday, I'm not making that up, am I?"

"No," Elliot nodded. "It's colder. We'll need to find jackets if we want to make it through tonight without freezing."

"More clothes? I think you're just saying that so you can have the familiarity." Dani's stomach growled. "Before we do anything else, we're getting food."

"Deal. I'm starving." They packed up the tent and put it back into the bag before setting off to find a place where they could eat.

* * *

Brody needed a jacket. His original one was with Bree, because when he ran she tried to grab him, caught the end of his jacket and he ditched it there and then because he didn't think keeping his jacket was worth dying for at the time. He stood by that, but he was also really pissed off by the idea that he had no jacket and Bree had two. His leg wasn't bleeding anymore, but there was a massive black bruise that covered most of his right shin, and stepping on it hurt. It hurt a _lot_. There was only so much he could do, even with the ample supply of medical supplies he had stumbled across. He reckoned that she managed to chip off some of his bone, so while he _really_ needed a jacket if he didn't want to freeze that night, he also had to stand up and walk to do that.

And he wasn't sure if he could do that.

He had found a box of pills labelled 'painkillers', and when he read the back of the box he found the idea of them very attractive, but at the same time he wasn't sure if it was a good idea to have any. In the end he caved and had two, and sat for another twenty minutes while he waited for them to start working. When he didn't die or get chest pains or anything of the sort and his leg stopped throbbing, he got to his feet and shuffled to the street. He needed food as well, and water. Rubbing his hands up and down his bare arms to generate warmth, he walked as quickly as he was able. On top of this, though he liked basic hand-to-hand combat more than any other method of fighting, he needed a weapon. He was in no condition to fight anyone like this. From what he observed, that meant he would need to go back to the Cornucopia. Which would risk being caught by the Careers, or worse. _Bree._

* * *

"We should be out there! Hunting!" Sam snarled.

"I'm telling you, we can't leave the supplies." Quinn said, sitting on a box, one leg crossed over the other and inspecting her fingernails with a bored expression.

"And why's that?" Kitty asked.

"Because we have the weapons." Jesse muttered, leaning back again the Cornucopia.

"So? Who cares, no one's going to bother to come back here!" Jake was as frustrated as Sam.

"That's what you think. We lost a cloth last night." Quinn said. The rest of the Careers, including Jesse, frowned at her.

"Even if we had, it easily could've been blown away in the breeze or something." Jake said. Quinn rolled her eyes.

"Not if it was sitting under the head of an axe."

"Did we lose the axe?" Kitty asked. Quinn shook her head.

"No. That's why I noticed that we lost the cloth."

"I still don't understand why this matters. It's a rag!" Sam pressed. Quinn resisted the urge to grind her teeth together as she looked up at him.

"It _means_, you thick-skulled, dim-witted _brute_, that someone is _following_ us. And if someone is _following _us and we haven't _noticed_ them yet," She got to her feet and advanced on him. "It means that we're all going to get _killed in our fucking sleep."_ She was standing right up close to him now, and if the circumstances were different she would appear completely dwarfed beside the blonde boy, but much to the contrary, he looked so unsettled by her cold fury that he was leaning away slightly. Her look was so fearsome that he actually took a step back. She turned away and sat back down, shutting her eyes and holding her hands to her temples. If she stayed then they could protect the supplies and keep Santana and Dani out of harms way. She didn't know what she was going to do about their District partners, but she would worry about them if they were still alive when the Career alliance dissolved. But, if she did stay here, the other Careers could try to kill her as well. It wasn't completely out of the realms of possibility, and if Sam remained this determined to kill Puck, he could easily become too dangerous to be a value to their group. If they went, Puck would be killed, without a doubt. The weapons would be open for anyone to access and take, and Santana may end up hating her for not protecting him. Then again, she didn't seem like the kind of person to blur the line of protecting her and protecting him. They still had enough supplies to last for two more days, so she wasn't worried about that. Quinn sighed.

"Everyone grab a weapon."

* * *

Seneca smiled at Quinn's words.

"Show me the city." The screen in front of him changed so that he could see the entire Arena, including the locations of the Tributes.

"I want the fastest path to 7 set out and these three buildings gone to drive them back." He said, pointing at some buildings on the street Puck and Santana were walking through.

The rumbling was softer this time. That didn't prevent Dani from halting and looking back. Elliot stopped as well, mostly to scout the area while Dani remained fixated on the top of the building that was collapsing. And then another one toppled out of the sky, just a little further away. And finally a third one dropped, further still, and the rumbling stopped. Elliot put his hand on Dani's shoulder.

"No cannon."

"We might've missed it."

"They wouldn't have us miss it this early on."

"I need to know that she's okay, El."

"She's fine, Dani, believe me." Elliot reassured, but they still didn't move. Dani's breathing evened out eventually and she started walking again, Elliot tailing after her.

"See? I told you." He said.

_Boom._

Dani's reaction was instantaneous. She whirled around, Elliot wrapped his arms around her waist to keep her from running off, and she screamed.

"_San!"_

* * *

It was Quinn's job to notice things. Without her guidance, the other Careers probably would've gotten lost. Without Jesse or Kitty, they would've been trapped in that city. As it was, Quinn was the only person who could lead them the right way. She noticed the little things in the fog, like marks on the walls, lights on deep inside of shops and doors being left ajar. They passed through the same block she had found Santana in the previous night, and then the first building fell, and she knew they had to be close. With the building's destruction the little signs ceased and Quinn bit her lip.

Things could go horribly out of her control very soon.

But she pressed on anyway, prompted by the second building tumbling down. Jesse, Kitty and Jake started to cheer and holler again, leaving Quinn and Sam unnervingly quiet in comparison. A third building crumbled and they rounded the final corner. Quinn came face to face with Puck and Santana, Puck standing a little bit in front of his friend. He glanced right at her and then at Santana and Quinn's eyes widened, alarms going off in her head.

_He has to die._

Quinn needn't have worried, because barely a second later Sam charged forward.

"Take this!" Quinn read the words on Puck's lips as he pushed the axe into Santana's hands and pushed her off, away from the Careers. "Go, Santana! _Run!_"

"Puck I-"

"_I promised!_" His roar shook the ground, and obviously Santana as well. "_Now go!"_ So, reluctantly Santana took a step back as Sam met Puck, his trident twirling in his hand expertly. Puck bypassed the weapon and went right for a low punch to Sam's stomach, winding him. Quinn watched the fight, her focus on the girl just behind it, who was gripping the axe so tightly her knuckles had gone white.

"I promised your mother I would protect you, now _go!_" Puck shouted, avoiding another one of Sam's stabs.

"Should we do something?" Kitty asked. Quinn shook her head.

"Sam's got this. We should probably turn back, actually." Quinn muttered, her mind whirring away as she tried to keep Santana out of trouble.

"What about her?" Jake asked. Quinn gave a perfectly sadistic laugh and allowed a small light to dance in her eyes with it.

"We'll come back for her later. We're going to send her mad before we kill her. The _best_ kind of torture." Quinn smirked coldly. Jake made a chuffed sort of sound and the three kept watching the fight, just in time to see Sam catch Puck in the arm. An idea hit Quinn.

"Kitty, do you remember the way back?"

"Yeah."

"You take J's back; I'll keep an eye on Sam here. Just in case." Quinn said. Kitty rolled her eyes.

"You really want to keep those weapons under wraps. Alright, I will."

"Oh and, don't forget," Quinn looked at her. "You're only leading the way. Jesse is in charge in my absence."

"How could I have ever assumed anything else. C'mon, boys." The three Tributes had just vanished down the other side of the block when Sam finally drove the trident through Puck's chest.

"And _that_ was for Brittany." He said, making the moment so overdramatic Quinn felt the urge to chuckle. She didn't, however, on the grounds that Santana was still right there.

Having developed a personality in the last five days, Quinn discovered that she wasn't that bad, really.


	12. Things Don't Always Go To Plan

**A/N: Hey guys! Back on track again!**

**lismrox - HAPPY PI DAY NERD**

* * *

**Chapter Twelve: Things Don't Always Go To ****Plan**

Santana was shredded. She knew, she _knew_ that Quinn had no interest in sparing Puck. But that didn't stop it from hurting. She barely heard the cannon's blast, her ears were buzzing and the only reason she was aware of it at all was the finality it presented. Her best friend, Noah Puckerman, was dead. Noah was dead. Her feet felt heavy but her head felt light, and she had a brief moment of clarity before the sky crashed down on her. In that moment, she swung the axe.

The world shattered at the same time Sam Evans' skull did.

Had she retained any energy, she probably would've proceeded to slam the axe into his chest a few more times for the sake of revenge. Samuel Evans had committed an unforgivable crime. He had taken the only real thing Santana had left. Instead she ripped the blade from his skull and fell to her knees, resting on the handle of the axe to stop herself from falling forward. She felt a hand rest on her shoulder and she looked at Quinn, expecting to feel a burning rage to fill her body when she looked at the blonde's face.

In comparison, she felt as though there had been a fire in the pit of her stomach and someone had just thrown a bucket of ice water over it.

"You have to keep moving." Quinn said. "I know you don't want to, but you have to." The cannon fired again. "The Careers might come back." Quinn shook her shoulder to get Santana to focus, which the Latina was grateful for. Quinn's words had swum through her head, blurring and morphing as the fire in the pit of her stomach died out and her body was eaten up by a clammy coldness.

"Santana, you have to move. If they come back and you're still here they'll kill us both." Quinn sighed and looked down the street. "When I go back without Sam and no third cannon they'll try to kill me." She flinched as Quinn kneeled beside her and forced Santana to look her in the eye. "Find Dani, okay? Find Dani and I'll find both of you. It'll be okay." She noticed the backpack Santana had, which was slightly open. "Were you stopping to eat?" She asked. Santana nodded numbly. Quinn frowned and peered in slightly and saw the parka. Her mind kicked into full gear as Santana's shut down completely, which she failed to notice as she got to her feet and paced, thinking aloud.

"It's gotten colder, there's no supplies at the Cornucopia, you grabbed a bag with a winter jacket in it…" Her eyes darted around as she connected the dots. "They're going to freeze us. Santana, find somewhere inside to stay tonight." She whirled and saw Santana's gaze frozen on the trident still jammed in Noah's ribcage. She pulled the girl to her feet and slapped her smartly.  
"Move it, Lopez!" She ordered. Santana slapped her back in an instant and scowled.

"Watch it, princess." She snapped. Quinn grinned.

"Stay warm." Quinn whirled and jogged after the Careers. Santana kept the axe gripped in her hands and started walking in the other direction, turning down a side street to get past the ruined buildings.

"Mami, I'm sorry." She said. "Papi, believe in me." She spotted a camera on the frame of a door and looked at it blankly. "Abuelita, if you're watching, I love you." She started walking again and was only two blocks away from where the murder's had taken place when her tears started to fall.

* * *

Two hours. That's how long the whole train loop took. There were three stops. The Cornucopia, the kitchen, and the store. Rachel was confused and slightly aggravated, if she was being honest. She had spent the last week honing her _hunting_ skills and now she was basically being handed everything on a silver platter, and there had to be some sort of catch.

Oh yeah. The Hunger Games.

On top of this, she was being followed. She was being followed, she _knew_ that she was being followed but she couldn't do anything about it because she was being followed by _Finn._ Honestly, of all the people. Something about him following her was infuriating; akin to the frustration a child would get when their 'friend' insisted on staying with them during a game of hide and seek. But because the Games were slightly more high stakes than hide and seek, she couldn't afford to just turn around, stomp her foot and shout 'Go find your own spot!' No, she was dealing with it because she didn't want to kill Finn. She didn't really want to kill anyone. She could honestly say that she was quite grateful that she hadn't managed to kill Santana, because she felt guilty for even pointing the arrow at her, let alone allowing it to fly. Her thoughts danced around Quinn quite often, wondering if either of the cannon blasts had been because of her. She had a feeling that they didn't, but she could never be sure. In any case, she knew that in the trains she couldn't be flattened by any buildings, she had easy access to all the supplies she could need, and simply out of needing to alleviate boredom she had mastered the art of running around train cars, ducking and jumping as though she was in a fight.

Just in case.

* * *

Bree was watching when Sam and Noah were killed. She easily could've gone after Santana and killed her in her moment of weakness, but she didn't care about Santana. She cared about Quinn. So she followed Quinn back to the Cornucopia, watching as she played her little game in her mind, strategizing and calculating.

_Strike the weak points and the structure will crumble._

Both girls had the same sentence ingrained in their minds, but for very different reasons, and they saw the point of it differently. Bree was aggressive by nature, merciless and uncaring but still young and inexperienced in comparison to Quinn, who was groomed to a much greater extent, and could therefore not only pick up on both the big picture and the little details, but could take the information and use it in the manner that would most conveniently extend her existence.

If it hasn't been made clear already, Quinn is a genius.

Not specifically a tactical or strategic genius, either. She was literally the single most intelligent Tribute in the Games, and quite possibly _any_ Games. To utilise this out_standing_ aspect of her being, her personality was eliminated so that no pesky feelings would get in the way and cloud her judgement. Most of her trainers would see her sudden surge of emotion to be a weakness; a fatal flaw so to speak. Quinn herself agreed with this as well, though it was mostly because that had been the most consistent message she had ever received. The funny thing was that the situation was quite the contrary. Quinn was now the smartest person in her peer group – of people she was meant to be killing, remember – and she was being driven by three, semi-conflicting but nonetheless passionate, burning desires. Only one would impair her success in the Games, because the other two were quite simple.

She wanted to win.

And she _needed_ to kill Bree.

The third motive could easily cause the most destruction, but Quinn didn't like it because it was centred on protection.

Protecting a certain brunette.

* * *

The whiskey swirled around the glass in Holly's hand. She hadn't taken a sip of the drink yet, though. She and Shelby had exchanged a nod after the fight and Holly had gotten herself a drink to give her something to do beyond flat out ignoring Sue's glare. She sat down next to Will and exhaled loudly.

"You're lucky, mate. She doesn't like me, but she freaking _hates_ you."

"That makes me lucky?"

"No, what makes you lucky is that neither of your two are in on the alliance." She sighed, lifted her glass to her lips and lowered it again without taking a sip. "There may be attempted murder yet. At least Cassandra is providing some entertainment." They both looked over the back of the couch to watch Cassandra sitting calmly.

"She seems to have gotten a little better since yesterday." Will said. Holly laughed.

"Are you kidding me?" She pointed back at Bree's monitor. "Just watch what happens."

* * *

While Quinn was making her way back to the Cornucopia, she took her time, but never stopped. She knew she was vulnerable to being tailed, but most of the Tributes would've given themselves away at some point. So, to clarify, Quinn _knew_ that Bree was following her, she just wasn't exactly sure of the younger girl's location, so she didn't want to risk being discovered and consequentially killed, so she kept walking and deciding on her plan to progress. They were probably going to try and kill her. Jesse, perhaps not. He would probably just look at the double cross, give her a look that means 'well played and next time I see you I _will_ try to kill you' and make a break for it. Jake and Kitty, on the other hand… Someone was going to be killed in this conflict. She stopped at the corner before the Cornucopia and took a moment to decide on her approach. Would she give Jesse a chance to run? Theoretically she shouldn't, but she sort of wanted to. The two were by no means friends, but he had provided her with just the right level of companionship through her life for her to be reluctant about simply killing him. She admitted she would be sad when he died. Not especially affected, but she would feel a loss. With that as her final thought, she rounded the corner and walked up to the edge of the pavilion the Cornucopia was sitting on, throwing knives twitching in her jacket sleeves, ready to slide into her grip.

"Where's Sam?" Jesse asked, noting her distance and her subtly prepared stance. He was standing just behind Jake and Kitty respective to her, and had already taken a step back and towards one of the adjacent exits to the pavilion.

"You heard the cannon, didn't you?" Quinn answered, watching Jake and Kitty carefully.

"You killed him?" Jake said.

"No, Santana did." Quinn answered.

"And you didn't kill her?" Kitty looked bemused. "Why not?"

"I didn't see the point. So what, she killed Sam." She looked at Jake carefully. "Revenge as a concept is pretty far below my motivation. It wastes time and energy, which is both why Sam killed and died. It's a cycle." She said, taking a step forward and making eye contact with Jesse again. He lifted his eyebrows slightly, held up the blade of his sword and nodded at the back of Kitty's head. Quinn shook her head slightly.

"And because of that, I don't want to be subject to something so juvenile." She added. Jesse turned the sword in his hand and lifted the hilt, arching one eyebrow. Quinn shook her head again and nodded towards the exit he was closest to. Jesse looked at it, back at her, shrugged and nodded.

"I think you're covering for something." Kitty said. "You didn't let us go after them last night and you let Santana get away today."

"What are you accusing me of, Kitty?" Quinn said. Jesse took that as his cue to silently leave the scene. Jake and Kitty didn't notice his absence, being too caught up in Quinn.

"You have an alliance with her, don't you!" Jake shouted. Quinn grinned at them.

"You two really are quite slow." She slipped a knife into each of her hands. "I'm going to kill you now." She advanced on them, confident that she could take them, even if it took a little while. Kitty was gripping her daggers, bloodlust tracing her eyes. Quinn went for Jake first.

* * *

Bree watched as Quinn handled her two assailants. It was interesting, seeing her remain calm even though she was physically at a disadvantage. She was still relatively on top of the fight, having the tactical advantage and being generally lighter and faster than Jake. Keeping Kitty away from her while she fought Jake seemed to be proving the most difficult thing for her, so when Kitty hung back for a moment to calculate, something in Bree snapped.

"She's _mine_." Her words hissed into the air with a certain contained aggression and she surged forwards, intent on preventing Kitty from getting the coveted kill.

Quinn, for her part, was mildly taken by surprised as a flash of dark skin and black hair slammed into Kitty. She had considered this as a possibility, of course, but she hadn't deemed it a likely one. She chuckled nonetheless, giving Jake her full attention so she could flee before Kitty or Bree finished each other off. The problem with fighting Jake, even having weapons against his fists, was that his blocks were so solid and his timing was so competent that simply _hitting_ him was going to do the job.

So Quinn did something clever.

Quinn's heel broke through several bones in Jake's foot, making him scream in pain.

"That should make it easier." She smirked. He took a step back and grimaced, but kept his guard up.

"I'm not going to make it that easy, Fabray." He grunted, throwing another punch. His form was getting sloppy and Quinn was surging with adrenaline.

"You make it sound like this is hard." She gritted her teeth, wondering why she even bothered to say that for the _Capitol's_ sake, and doubled her attack. She heard the crack of a bone behind her and realised that she was going to have to hurry up, or Bree would be on her in a second. She ducked and swiped, forcing Jake back who grunted with each step, his face red with exertion. He backed into a hedge at the edge of the pavilion and Quinn took her chance to drive her knife into his lower stomach and force it up his torso, his blood spilling everywhere and his guts slipping out of his wound. She tore her hand from his chest and started climbing the hedge beside him immediately, pausing at the top only to look back and see Bree throwing her mace down into Kitty's head once, twice, a third time. Two cannons fired and Bree looked up to see Quinn vanishing from view.

"_Come back here, coward!"_ Bree shrieked. "_Don't run from me!_" Quinn stopped at the corner and, thinking better of herself, shouted back a reply.

"Think of it as advancing in reverse, Brooks! Don't you worry, I'll be back for you!" And then she ran, disappearing into the fog before Bree could chase after her.

* * *

Dani was on edge. Four cannon blasts, _four!_ Anyone could be dead. It was foolish, she knew. Being this agitated by the idea of Santana's death. Honestly, she met the girl a week ago; she was way too attached to her.

"Let's grab some food." Elliot said. Dani nodded and they turned into the next street. They'd already grabbed jackets, right after the first two blasts. The second two had occurred a little after midday, and in the not quite light it looked like it was going to be dark soon. They had stopped to eat twice and both were exhausted. Dani from worrying, and Elliot from desperately trying to keep Dani's mind off of the cannons. Another building crumbled a few blocks away from them, but when no cannons fired, neither Tribute payed it any further attention. Night settled and they pitched their tent far enough from the city to remain out of sight if the lights came on, and the cold settled in. Dani sat in front of the tent, wrapped under a blanket and wearing three layers under that. She watched the sky intently with Elliot beside her, waiting for the anthem to play. The first face to appear in the sky was Kitty's, which took them both by surprise.

"I wasn't expecting that." Elliot said. When Jake's face appeared they shared a look.

"What do you think happened?" Elliot asked. Dani could only shrug.

"The District 1's are still in." She pointed out. Sam's face appeared and Dani tilted her head.

"I guess today was a bad day to be a Career." She said, releasing a hapless laugh. Elliot snuck his hand under her blanket and squeezed her hand, noticing the way she tensed up waiting for the final Tribute's face to appear. Noah's cold smirk filled the sky and Dani gasped.

"Puck?" She said, both filled with relief and horrified at the same time. "Oh God. She must've barely escaped."

"But she's okay." Elliot said. "Come on, we need to get some rest." He pulled her into the tent for the night.

* * *

Kurt and Blaine had quite a comfortable day. They heard the cannons, thanked the lord that they weren't outside to experience it, and only came across one inconvenience. The building, just before dark, started to tremble. They hadn't witnessed any of other buildings falling apart, but they left as soon as they noticed and it fell soon after that. They thought, for safety reasons, they would move a few blocks and find somewhere to stay there. Seneca Crane was, frankly, bored by them. So he decided to orchestra a meeting between the two most passive alliances in the Games. The next day, their paths would cross.

"Empty the apartments in that building. I want them to have no access to food or water in the morning." He smirked. "And for fun's sake, turn their heating off as well." One of his workers looked over her shoulder at him.

"What about these two?" She pointed at the 12's on the screen. He shook his head.

"I'm saving them for later. How's 7 going?"

"She's found a lobby to stay in for the night. Should we take her heating too?"

"No, no, she did well today. She's earned her reward. Where's Quinn?" Seneca asked. One of his other workers waved him over and he watched their screen to see her ducking into the back of a _mattress store_.

"She's very clever, sir."

"I've noticed. Leave her." He hopped up to the higher platform in the control room and made his way over to his first advisor. "Is it ready?"

"You bet it is. These kids won't know what hit them."

"Perfect." Seneca grinned.


	13. The Freeze

**Chapter Thirteen: The Freeze**

When Bree woke up, it was too early. It was _way_ too early, but it was also cold. Not just cold, it was _freezing._ She forced her eyes open and yelped at the wall of white that met her eyes. She tried to sit up but found that she couldn't. Her fingertips were grazing against something that was burning cold, and everything suddenly made sense. She was snowed in. She was snowed _on._ In fact, if she hadn't kept Brody's jacket, she would probably have frozen to death. She was lucky that he was so much bigger than her, because her hands would've been taken by frostbite if they had been sitting in the open. Her mace was still beside her, so she started the slow work of digging her way out of the snow. She wasn't sure how long it took, but once she was in the open she got even _colder._ She had been sleeping through a blizzard, and she had to shut her eyes again as she sat up and covered her face in her sleeves to stop the tiny shards of ice from scratching her cheeks. Once she could move her feet properly she kicked the snow off of her legs and grabbed her mace with a sleeve. She got to her feet and started walking towards the first doors she could find. She tumbled into a surplus store and jammed the door shut. She left the mace on the counter and scoured the shelves to see what she had available to her. Some tinned food, some tattered clothing and a whole stack of things she would never need. She found a sink in the back room, which actually worked, and a small, revolting, but nonetheless functional toilet. She stripped her jackets off and left them to dry while she returned to the shelves and grabbed a pair of surprisingly nice gloves, some bigger woollen mittens, and a fleece hoodie that could do with a wash. She pulled the gloves on first, then the hoodie, and finally the mittens. She bit down on her lip as the feeling slowly returned to her fingers, burning from the sudden change in temperature. She ducked behind the counter and tucked into a ball, holding her knees to her chest and whimpering as the pain intensified slowly. It subsided eventually, and she sat back up again. She kept the mittens on as she pulled the mace down from the counter and out of view. She peeked over the top of the counter, through the front windows of the store and at the snowstorm outside.

"Quinn can wait a few days, I guess." She submitted, curling up again and trying to get some more sleep.

* * *

Kurt and Blaine woke up huddling close together.

"Ugh, why is it so cold?" Kurt groaned. Blaine rolled over and got up to get a glass of water and frowned when the tap didn't give him any. He opened the mini fridge and found that it was empty.

"Kurt, we need to search the next place over for food."

"Okay." Kurt said, rolling to his feet. But when they checked the next apartment, there was no food or water there. Or in the place after that, or the one after that. When they finally stopped searching, Blaine sighed.

"Okay, I'm guessing they want us to go out, so what's going to happen, is you're going to stay here, and I'll go find food and water. I'll bring some blankets back as well."

"I don't want you going out there on your own!"

"Kurt, don't worry. If I'm not back by midday, then you can come looking for me. I'll be fine, trust me." Blaine said, giving a reassuring smile before he trotted down the stairs and jogged across the lobby. He opened the door to be hit by a blast of cold air and hissed in surprise.

"I'll have to get some jackets as well, then."

* * *

Quinn was a little surprised. She knew it was getting colder, but she wasn't expecting such a drastic drop in climate. She had to go out and get food, which meant she would need a jacket, and probably a scarf. And if she wanted to be able to throw her knives, she would definitely need gloves. It was a must. She pushed the door open against the blizzard and blindly made her way to the opposite side of the street, which was forgivingly under cover. She looked in the window of every store until she found a place with clothes. She went to open the door but found it was jammed from the cold. She braced her shoulder against it and slammed into the door, stumbling into the store as the ice around the frame splintered. She shut the door behind her and paced down to the opposite end of the shop, rubbing her hands together urgently. She kept walking in small circles until the chill was gone, and then she made short work of digging through the winter section of the store. She ended up ditching her jacket and pulling on a jumper and new, warmer, less flimsy jacket.

It also had bigger pockets.

The only gloves she could find were fingerless, which would've been useless if they didn't have fold over mitten tops.

"When I get out of here, I'm going to become a _fashion icon._" Quinn hissed. "And I'm going to eradicate these hideous monstrosities from existence." She slipped her knives back into her sleeves, making sure she left the tips of the blades _over_ the bottoms of the gloves, and fastened the mittens over her fingers. She left again right after, in search of food.

* * *

Santana hadn't moved once she woke up. She merely pulled the parka out, slipped it on, and took out the first packet of snacks her hand found. She opened it and left it beside her, in case she got hungry. She never did. She had three different things that she needed to take some time to think about. The first was obvious, her best friend, her protector, her brother was dead. The second was that she had killed someone. She had honest to god taken the life of another person, and even though she tried to justify it, because she was avenging Noah's death, and because she was in the Hunger Games, it was impossible. She envied Quinn in that moment more than ever. Being able to kill without batting an eyelid, being able to watch murder without feeling sick. The final thing was that Dani was still out there somewhere, with Elliot. Dani was safe. She kept repeating that to herself relentlessly, underneath all of her other thoughts. Dani was fine.

"She's okay. She's fine. She's safe." Santana had heard the words so many times externally as well as internally she wasn't sure if she was saying them aloud or not. She would have to find Dani eventually. When the storm subsided. That night she would go out to see who died, and when the storm stopped she would start looking for Dani.

Fuck Quinn.

She didn't care about Quinn. She was going to use Quinn to keep herself and Dani safe, and she was going to lie to herself if she changed her mind. Because she was already lying a little. Quinn had saved her life twice now. Three times, really. She really did care about the blonde, much as she would hate to admit it. Santana sighed and rested her head against the wall behind her, her eyes shut. She tried to remember the feeling of Dani's hand in hers, but she couldn't. When she thought about recreating any sensation too much, all she could think about was the resistance Sam's skull had given when she had killed him.

"I hope you two are okay."

* * *

"Have you been out here all night?" Shelby said, looking at Adam and Holly sitting on the couch, exactly where she had left them last night. They both nodded absently and Shelby sighed, moving to the coffee maker.

"Adam, how do you have your coffee?"

"We'll both have it black." Holly said, not taking her eyes away from the monitors. "Shelby, you need to see this."

"I don't need to do _anything_ to do with the Games anymore this year, Holly." Shelby chuckled.

"No, really," Holly insisted. "Come take a look at what they've done." Shelby rolled her eyes and sat on the arm of the couch next to her. She skimmed over the first few monitors, Jesse indoors, Kurt indoors, Bree indoors, Santana indoors-

"Oh my _god." _Shelby gasped. "Is that real?" She was fixed on the scene of Dani and Elliot forcing their way through the blizzard.

"Bree nearly _froze_ a few hours ago." Adam commented, watching his Tributes. "I don't believe this is happening."

"What, the snow?" Shelby asked.

"No," They said in unison. Adam frowned slightly but didn't look away from the screen.

"We've really spent a lot of time together this year, haven't we Holly?"

"We have. Shelby, that coffee actually sounded great." Holly said, switching from Quinn's monitor to Dani and Elliot's.

"I can't believe it. I've been doing this for like, four years. These two could do it." He said. "I just wish they knew how to _fight._"

"They'll learn, you know." Shelby said. "They always do."

* * *

Dani and Elliot were in the lobby of some sort of business building, huddled together under their layers, waiting until they were warm before the did anything else.

"So…" Elliot shivered. "We need thermals and waterproofs." He looked down at Dani beside him, who was clinging to his side if not for any other reason than that was the only way they were going to be able to share their blanket.

"C-Can we talk ab-bout something different for a little?"

"Like what?" Elliot said, putting his arm over her shoulders to help her warm up.

"What would we be doing if we were back in District 5?" Dani asked. Elliot shrugged.

"Well, my parents would be with my grandparents to watch the Games, which means I'd be at your place…" He looked around for inspiration. "It's snowing here so we'd have hot chocolate." He added. Dani gave a small smile, so he kept going. "And because we don't like watching, we'd probably be talking about one of my designs, one of your songs, or a job you just finished." He jumped slightly as Dani bolted upright.

"I had a job!"

"Huh?"

"The morning of the Reaping, I had a job! The sink job! I said I was gonna go back to fix it-" She put her hands to her cheeks and looked at him, "I said I was gonna go back and fix it because 'what are the chances that I'll get reaped'! Oh my god!" She looked around until she spotted a camera. "Hey, to the couple who I was fixing the sink of… Sorry? Kinda got held up? I hope you got the problem fixed?" She bit her tongue and added, "Maybe the next plumber had a better time because you were willing to tell them _what was stuck in your pipes?_" She exhaled and leaned back into Elliot's side. "I feel better now." He chuckled and squeezed her shoulder.

* * *

Brody was lucky he had chosen to stay inside the previous night. He had no doubt that if he had stayed out on the grass that night, he would've died. His leg was getting no better and he was running low on painkillers. He had stumbled into a second hand clothes store during the night, and had spent the first few hours of the morning tearing strips off of clothes to replace the bandages on his leg. He then grabbed the thickest jacket he could find and swapped his standard trainers for snow boots, before he found a scarf and wrapped it around his neck and the bottom half of his face. He grabbed a beanie, and some snow gloves, pulled them both on and broke out of the store. He suddenly wished he had taken the time to look for some goggles, but couldn't see the point in going back and looking for some. He was out there now, and he wasn't going to stop until he found another pharmacy. He had found a thin jacket the day before but quickly discarded it as the weather turned south. He was pushing through the blizzard with his arm up to protect his eyes, searching the front of each store as best he could. He rounded a corner and saw a figure facing away from him, sword in hand.

"St. James." He hissed, ducking back behind the wall before he could be spotted. "_Shit."_ He stayed there for a long moment, breathing freely under the sound of the storm. He felt the wind change direction and was suddenly able to catch some of Jesse's words.

"I know I heard a package fall down around here somewhere, where _is_ it!?" He growled, looking through the sea of white for the metal box. His foot shuffled into something hard, and he looked at his feet to find the gift. "Finally!" He exclaimed, scooping it into his arms and looking around. He held his sword up and at the ready before he pushed through the snow and into a random building, going right past Brody without seeing him. Brody, for his part, was already halfway across the next block before Jesse could consider turning around, and was shuffling into a chemist as Jesse looked back out to the storm.

* * *

"Okay, let's revise. I'll go and get clothes."

"I'll get food."

"We know where our stores are exactly,"

"And we come back here as soon as we're done." Dani finished. They grinned at each other, standing at the door of the lobby. Dani held her hand out, which Elliot gripped enthusiastically.

"Don't forget to see if you can find any cake. We'll need it in ten days." Elliot teased. Dani rolled her eyes.

"Stay on topic, Gilbert." She grabbed the door handle with her free hand, and pushed the door open as she added, "Break!" They stepped out and split off, Elliot to the left and Dani to the right. All of the food that they had stored the previous day was left behind when they woke up in the middle of a snowstorm so she was getting as much as she could carry, along with some water as well. She reached the supermarket and whizzed through, grabbing mostly fruit and other things that didn't need to be cooked. She picked up a fabric bag and tossed everything in there before she started back towards the lobby. She pushed her way through the doors and dropped the bags down, before she paced around waiting for Elliot to come back. When he was gone a few more minutes she bit her lip and scanned the street carefully. Another few minutes after that and she was half-panicking, so she pulled her sleeves down over her hands and broke back into the storm, turning left.

"Elliot!" She called, her voice getting whipped away by the wind before she could even finish it. She took a deep breath and shouted, "_El!_" A gust of wind cleared her forward vision for a moment, giving her a glimpse of two people grappling in the snow. A white-hot shock of adrenaline shot through her and she broke into a run. Even so, the storm was getting more intense around them and Dani was slowing down, even as she fought harder to get to the skirmish. She thought she heard a cannon fire but she could've made it up in heat of the moment. She was forced back into a walk as the storm reached it's peak and started to grow gentler. She was soaked, shivering and her teeth were chattering loudly, but she pushed forwards anyway, tucking her hands into her armpits to keep them from freezing. Her heart stopped when she saw red spotted on the snow.

* * *

Blaine broke back into the apartment, shaking. Kurt was sitting there, waiting for him, and he jumped to his feet as Blaine lent against the door.

"Kurt, Kurt I'm so sorry." He blurted. "Kurt, I did it, I actually did it and I don't know what to do-"

"Blaine, Blaine, calm down! It's okay! What happened?"

"I…" Blaine looked at his hands. "I killed someone."


	14. Thaw

**A/N: We're getting closer to the end now! **

**I just wanted to mention something to Ehlayah (thanks for the review btw), I actually read Battle Royale before I read the Hunger Games, and I keep looking at your review and think about a Glee/Battle Royale AU where I don't have to change the characters as much to make them fit and _damn you I really want to write it._**

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen: Thaw**

Dani knelt in the snow, ignoring that she couldn't feel her legs from the knees down anymore. Elliot was lying on his back, glassy eyed and gazing at the sky. He was holding onto a pair of gloves in his left hand and a jacket was tucked under his arm. She could see bruising around his neck and blood dripping from his nose, and she couldn't feel anything, but her skin was _burning._ Her fingers were tingling and she couldn't tell whether it was from the snow or not, but she kind of wished it was. She found herself reaching out in a jittery motion and pulling the gloves from his grip. She realised she was gritting her teeth but didn't bother to relax her jaw as she kept repeating the same thing over and over.

"He wants me to have it, he wants me to have it, he wants me to have it…" She kept saying it until she'd put them and one of the jackets on. But she didn't get to her feet. She stayed there, watching his face, internally begging him to breath, or blink, or move. Anything. She waited for him to do anything. It started snowing again around her and she knew that if the blizzard started again she would have to move, so she let out a shaky breath and closed his eyes. She reached down and held his hand, though it was cold as ice, and she gave him a shaky smile, which she wished he could return.

"You were great, El. You were the best; you and I were the very best. It was you and me against the world, and it still is, and it always will be." She took a breath in unsteadily and continued. "So thank you, for saving me. I'll see you around." She felt a gust of wind hit the back of her head, sending shivers down her body. She squeezed his hand one final time and standing up. She looked in the snow carefully, trying to find footprints to follow, but was hideously disappointed. She clenched her fists and started walking in that direction anyway, ignoring her hunger. She was going to find whoever it was who killed Elliot.

She was going to make them _pay._

* * *

Rachel was tucked away in the restaurant when the storm picked up again. The windows at the front of the store were rattling dangerously, and she was starting to getting really worried about the prospect of them smashing into the store. So, she steeled herself and got to her feet. Rachel was a firm believer in 'you can never be too careful', so even though she was going out into a blizzard, she had her bow knocked with an arrow, ready for action. She just hoped she could stay upright against the wind. She fought the door open and braced herself against the icy wind. She pulled her cowl up over her nose and under her eyes, heading towards the train station. She was glad that her survival skills were sort of coming in handy now and- she turned back to the street with her bow raised, pointing right at a silhouette on the other side of where she estimated the road to be. She carefully aimed to the right a bit to compensate for the wind, and narrowed her eyes to spot the target again. Which was gone, naturally. She swallowed uneasily and lowered her bow before she carefully walked backwards down the stairs.

* * *

Maybe somewhere tropical would be nice to live. Maybe she could visit District 4 during winter. District 1 had its fair share of snow, but she found it hard to believe that it snowed this badly anywhere. She hated the Capitol. Quinn released a chuckle at that thought.

"_I've come full circle._" She smiled at that, underneath her scarf. She had spent the whole day looking for Santana, Dani or Elliot, and she was probably going to keep looking for them through the night. She saw a figure step out of a building and scanned them, looking for hints to their identity. Her tacticians centre kicked-started and she was already thinking at full speed. "_Quiver, bow, arrows, Rachel Rachel Rachel,"_ She took a sharp breath and did her best to ignore the passive "_Kill, kill, kill, kill," _in her head and instead shuffled around to try and see where Rachel was headed. There was a staircase that led somewhere down below the street and Quinn's interest was piqued. There was a railing around the hole the entrance made, behind where Rachel was looking. She quickly, and as quietly as she could hopped over the railing and jumped down onto the stairs underneath her. Her boots clacked softly against the floor so she quickly darted down the steps and out of view to Rachel. She saw a second set of stairs leading down so she sped down them and found herself on the train's platform. Her eyes darted around, both examining the area and adjusting to the complete lack of white. She absorbed the tracks, the benches and the vending machines before she made her way to the wall facing where the stairs let out. She leant back against them and waited for Rachel to come down. Forgive her for wanting to have a _little_ fun. Her body and her mind and her gut were all having different ideas about how this exchange would go. Her mind was telling her to push for an alliance again, but her hands were twitching and ready to throw her knife. She penned that down to muscle memory. Her gut, on the other hand, was telling her to run. Rachel entered her vision, pulling her cowl off and tugging it over her arm, and Quinn cleared her throat.

"F-fuck!" Rachel jumped, trying to pull her bow up and at the ready as she slipped on some snow stuck to her boots. Her feet flew out wildly and she got them under in control in the same amount of time it took her to realise who the person speaking was.

"So, you've been hanging out at the train station?" Quinn said, staying expressionless to hide her giggle.

"What- How-" Rachel shook her head to clear her thoughts. "How did you get down here?" "I followed you."

"But-"

"I was the one out on the street. Maybe next time you should be a bit faster with your aiming."

"Then-"

"I deduced that it was a train station. I've read enough to understand the concept." Quinn said. Rachel scowled for a moment before she loaded her bow and fired the arrow at Quinn suddenly. For her part, the blonde stepped out of the way and the arrow bounced off the wall harmlessly. Her body reacted instantly, a knife slipping out of her sleeve fluidly, and she threw it only to catch the blade before it left her reach. She hissed and tucked it back again, glaring at the shorter girl.

"See what you made me do?" Quinn shook her head. "All I wanted to do was barter and alliance."

"Oh?"

"Same as before, with the four of us as a pack. I won't kill any of you, you won't kill each other."

"And why should I agree to your terms?" Rachel said. "I have a better exit than you do, here." Quinn shrugged.

"You saw me catch my knife just then. What if that was a fluke?" She answered. Rachel shook her head.

"It wasn't."

"It might've been. There's evidence to suggest that I'm not actually a superhuman." Quinn smirked at Rachel's snort.

"_Doubtful_."

"I understand." Quinn nodded. "But still true. I'm really just like you. Only, you know, faster, smarter, stronger…" She flashed a smile. "And I'm offering you a better option than trekking it in the snow."

"Do you know where Dani and Santana are?" Rachel asked. Quinn stayed silent for a moment.

"Not yet, no. They'll probably find each other before I find either of them, anyway."

"What makes you say that?" Rachel lifted her eyebrows. Quinn scoffed.

"Right, like they won't look for each other before they look for me. Neither Dani _or_ Santana like me or trust me that much, they'll team up before they get to the risky part."

"And is it actually risky for them?"

"Of course not. I don't often say things on my word, I'm not going to break it for the sake of people that I hate." Quinn frowned. "Which is everyone, but I was mostly referring to the Capitol then." She bit her tongue and got back to the point. "I also think they're quite fond of each other's company, and Puck is out of the competition, so Santana won't be looking for anyone else. Not for the time being, at least."

"I knew about Noah. Those screens," She pointed to one. "They show the deceased of the day."

"What's your answer?" Quinn asked, ignoring the monitor. Rachel looked at her feet for a moment.

"Sure."

* * *

The room Santana had been sitting in all day had a TV in it, so when it turned on and played the Capitol's anthem, she nearly threw the axe into it in surprise. She didn't, thankfully, and was instead greeted with Elliot's face. Her heart jump-started and pounded against her ribcage as she thought of Dani, but was both shocked and relieved when his was the only face. She shrunk back into the parka and rested her chin on her knees.

"When the storm stops tomorrow, I'm going to look for her." She said, to no one in particular. At the same time, Dani was curled into a ball in a shop far from Santana, shivering and broken.

"I'll kill him. And I'll find her. I'll find San and I'll keep her safe." She pulled her hands closer to her chest and breathed slowly. "I'll find her and it'll be okay."

* * *

The next day Blaine went out again, around midday when the storm was getting weaker, to get more food. He told Kurt to stay inside again, insisting that he keep himself safe. Blaine knew he was more capable at defending himself, and he wasn't going to allow Kurt to enter the line of fire for his safety, or at all if he could avoid it. What he hadn't counted on was the storm dying completely halfway through his trip and a screaming ball of blue-haired rage to crash-tackle him to the ground from behind.

"Did you kill him?"

"What?" Blaine felt his arm get twisted and pressed against his back in such and uncomfortable manner that he couldn't help but cry out.

"Did I fucking stutter? Did you kill him, yesterday?"

"If I say yes?"

"You die."

"If I say no?"

"You're a fucking liar." Dani spat. "Now tell me you killed him."

"But-" Blaine cried out as his arm was pressed further into his back.

"Tell me straight and I'll just kill you. If you don't, there will be consequences." Dani hissed. Blaine swallowed tersely and answered.

"Yes, I killed your friend." He said. In a flash he was flipped over with his arms pinned under her knees.

"Trick question, really. No right answer." She pulled her gloves off and rested them on his chest so they wouldn't get wet. "Not for you, at least." She said. She saw fear in his eyes. Complete and total, unadulterated fear. Dani didn't like it. She didn't like that she was making him feel that. It made her sick. But knowing that this helpless boy with fear filling his eyes was the one who killed Elliot? That made her feel even worse. So she punched him, again, and again, and again. She punched him until his face was bloody and bruised, until her fists were black and blue, and she didn't stop for a second. She didn't stop when his nose _crunched_, or when she started to cry. She didn't stop when blood was dotted all around them, not until she hit the sweet-spot in his temple and the cannon fired. Only when the cannon fired did she stop. She sat back and she looked up at the sky, which was starting to look almost clear for the first time in days. She pulled her gloves back on and took one of the apples he had been carrying before she stood up and walked away. She needed to find Santana now.

* * *

"Today has been possibly the most boring day so far." Cassie groaned. Adam shot her a look.

"Excuse you, but just because _your_ kids were holed up today doesn't mean nothing happened." He snapped. Cassie rolled her eyes and looked at him.

"So your girl killed a guy, big deal. No one cares."

"I care." Simultaneously Holly, Emma, Will, Isabelle, Shelby and Adam snapped back at her.

"I care a lot, to be frank." Holly added. "And I'm sure Emma does too, seeing as it was her kid that died."

"He was a really nice boy." Emma said quietly. "One of the nicest I've ever gotten."

"He and Kurt could've had a great life together." Isabelle nodded. "A normal one, even."

"Maybe next year, Emma." Will said softly. Cassie groaned and rolled her eyes again.

"This competition isn't about feelings, it's about winning. It's about being the strongest and the best, and trampling the enemy."

"I couldn't agree more, July." Sue said. "This competition is about winning, but you've forgotten something very important."

"And what does the all-powerful, ever-superior Sue Sylvester have to say?"

"No one ever wins the Hunger Games."

* * *

The next morning Santana woke up sweaty. She frowned and peeled the parka off and looked outside. There was no snow, or any trace of it. The street was dry, the sun was shining and everything felt too positive in comparison to the last four days. She kept looking out for a moment before she pushed herself to her feet, slipped her backpack on and picked up her axe. The storm was over and the sun was out, which meant Santana was going to find Dani no matter what. Beneath her feet, unbeknownst to her, Quinn and Rachel were sitting on opposite sides of the train carriage, trying to ignore how intensely awkward everything had become for them now that they were sharing space for more than a few minutes at a time.

"At least we aren't shouting at each other, right?" Quinn mumbled, running her hands through her hair. This would've all been easier if she had just not let herself create some twisted attachment to Rachel, and she knew that. If she had been sensible and bared her teeth that first night to drive Rachel away, if she hadn't agreed to protect Santana and Dani, yet, at the same time, she felt as though there was nothing else to be done about it. It didn't matter what was smart or right or effective, because for the first time in her life Quinn had been offered a decision with two very distinctive paths to take. The path she should take, the one she would be advised to take, likely the one she would be silly not to take – but the other path was simply the one that she had chosen to take anyway. Why?

"Because I wanted to." Quinn muttered. She ran her hand through her hair again and sighed. She wanted to. She wanted to be Santana's friend, and she wanted to protect Rachel. She had chosen that path because for the first time for as long as she could remember, she had _wanted_ to do something. And for the first time ever she had wanted to do something at her own expense for someone else's benefit. She sighed yet again.

"This is so fucked up."

* * *

Bree opened her eyes, groaning at the sunlight that had landed on her face. She blinked a few times and rubbed her eyes before she realised that the snow was gone. In a second she had her mace and was out on the street, stripping off her clothes as she went. She had put the jackets back on once they had dried off, and was now dumping the gloves and the hoodie on the ground with careless abandon. She'd be gone long before anyone found them. She also stripped off Brody's jacket and tied it around her waist. She kept her own jacket on while she walked, only to remove it and tie it around her waist above Brody's a few minutes later. While she had been in the surplus store she had eaten and drunk as much as she could manage out of what was available, and then some. She didn't plan on stopping until she found Quinn, or she had to stop. She knew that probably wasn't the greatest idea in the world, because the first time she had tried that she nearly froze to death, but she was too far-gone to acknowledge the idea. She was going to find Quinn, and she wasn't going to let anyone stand in her way.

* * *

It took Jesse a little while to open the box, but once he had, he was not displeased with his prize. He had a map to the city. There were a few landmarks dotted here and there, but Jesse was most intrigued by the blue dashed line that ran around the entire city, with dots at the Cornucopia and two other places. He checked the key and nodded. When the storm stopped, he would go find the nearest marked place, and find the place marked 'train station'.


	15. One Day Nobody Died

**A/N: lismrox, here is your reward for finishing your Modern in class assessment and cross country in one day.**

**This is both my reward for finishing the same in class assessment and my method of procrastination for the English in class assessment tomorrow.**

**You didn't need to know that either way, but merry christmas, you know now.**

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen: One Day Nobody Died**

"We should probably start looking for Dani and Santana soon." Rachel mumbled. Quinn nodded.

"Not this next stop though. They're closer to the supplies store than the kitchen, or San was, at least."

"I picked you up at the kitchen, though." Rachel said, as the train stopped.

"I was- _down._" Quinn pulled Rachel down below the window.

"Quinn? What is it? What did you see?" Rachel asked, her voice low. Quinn shook her head and held a finger to her lips before she pointed down at the other end of the train car before she very clearly mouthed 'Go' to be followed by 'Stay low'. Rachel nodded back and hurried down the train car and down the steps. Quinn snuck back to the steps she was closest to and peeked out to see Jesse St. James stepping onto the train. She ducked back quickly and lowered her breathing as he looked over, pressing herself up against the wall. She heard his footsteps move around the carriage before she heard him snort.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" He chuckled, quietly enough for Rachel to miss it but for Quinn to hear him clearly.

"_He hasn't seen me._" She relaxed an inch before she realised what that meant. "_Rachel."_ She looked down at the girl and bit her lip. She had to do something; she couldn't just let Jesse kill her. The train rumbled back to life and she heard Jesse stumble back in surprise. "_Okay, think, think, what are your odds here?"_ Quinn thought furiously, "_Twenty minutes until we reach the next stop and eight train cars in Rachel's direction._" Quinn bit her lip and took a deep breath before she swung out from her hiding place and kicked out with both feet where she trusted Jesse's face to be.

She had yet to miss a mark.

Jesse yelled in pain and stumbled back, dropping his sword. She snatched it up and sprinted across the train car to where Rachel was waiting.

"Move!" Quinn instructed, gesturing for her to open the door to the next carriage. Rachel opened it quickly and let Quinn run past before she shut the door again. Both girls were crammed into a space that really didn't fit one person at the best of times, exposed to the tunnel.

"The handle is jammed, give me your jacket." Quinn said. Rachel handed it to her, asking why she wanted it. She was cut off by Quinn wrapping it around her arm and punching through the glass. She reached through the window and opened the door from there. She pulled her arm out and grabbed Rachel's wrist right as Jesse slammed into the door behind them, snarling madly and blood running down his nose. Quinn yanked Rachel into a run and kicked the door shut behind them.

"You go up, I'll go down!" Quinn said breaking into a run after her. "Go through the door, don't wait up!" Quinn shouted, twisting to hold Jesse back for another moment. His fist flew at her face, which she ducked away from.

"C'mon, Q." He said, his grin growing ever wider. "We both know I'm better at hand to hand." He threw another punch, which she ducked away from again.

"Yeah," She ducked again, "But we both know I'm faster than you." She jumped onto a chair and darted behind him. "And your sword got lost in transit, as it were." Quinn dropped into a backwards roll to avoid the next punch and sighed. "I _have_ to stop talking like this."

"It's a little annoying." Jesse agreed. Quinn smiled at him before she twisted around and ran up the two sets of stairs. Jesse followed her eagerly, enjoying the chase.

"You know," Quinn huffed, blocking another strike. "I could point out that I'm not actually unarmed."

"Then why aren't you?"

"Because the 'something up my sleeve' joke won't work. I left my jacket in the last carriage."

"This needs to stop, Q." Jesse shook his head, reinforcing his attack.

"God, I know. I'm ashamed." Quinn shook her head to get her hair out of her eyes and Jesse's elbow connected with her chin. She bit the inside of her cheek as she fell and cried out as her head hit the floor.

"Ff-fuck." She spat, blanching at the metallic taste that filled her mouth. Jesse stood over her for a moment and grinned ever wider.

"I've looked forward to this, Q. I've been waiting to prove that I'm better than you for years." He said, his eyes shining with bloodlust. Quinn tried to swallow, hacked for a moment and answered.

"Thing is, J, you're not. Because when it comes down to it, your vanity always gets in the way."

"Huh-" Quinn lifted her foot and kicked him in the crotch. He yelled in pain and sank to his knees, which gave Quinn the chance to scramble to her feet. She turned to go after Rachel when Jesse spoke.

"Why aren't you killing me?" He whined. Quinn shrugged.

"I don't really want to." She turned again to hop down the stairs and felt his hand close around her ankle a second too late for her to prevent herself from falling forward. She stuck her arms out wildly to find purchase, gripping onto the stair's railing barely a centimetre from smashing her teeth into the edge of the step. She instinctively twisted her foot and forced her heel back, getting a snap in response. Jesse screamed and Quinn dragged her feet up underneath her before she spat blood on the floor by his hand. "Don't make me change my mind, St. James. That'd be a bad move."

* * *

Santana was tired. Her feet were aching. Her calves were screaming and her arms were dead. But, even as the sun set behind her, she kept walking with her axe raised. She would keep walking until she found Dani, because she was too scared to stop. At some point she had started crying again but she kept on going because she was afraid that if she stopped she would think about Noah dying and then she would think about the prospect of Dani dying and she _really did not want to do that_. She was now in the dark, tears steadily spilling from her eyes, axe raised and knuckles white, so when she heard the rasp of someone saying her name behind her, she nearly decapitated them on the spot.

Luckily for Dani, Santana did not do this.

Instead, the axe halted just before it could hit its mark, and Santana stared at her for a long moment. Then the axe was clattering to the ground and Santana was wrapping her arms around the other girl, holding onto her tight to make sure she was real.

"Dani!" She cried, she really cried. The tears that had been flowing ceased to be silent and she sobbed into the shoulder of the blue haired girl, who was hugging her back, stunned into silence for a long moment before she kissed the side of Santana's head and started to cry into her shoulder in return.

* * *

"Oh my god, yes, yes!" Adam cried waving his arm around in excitement.

"No, no, San, don't, don't!" Holly shouted, just as riled up. When they watched the two girls hug both mentors jumped into the air, spilling their drinks – their untouched drinks – everywhere, cheering in delight.

"_Yes!_" They yelled, linking arms and dancing in a circle for a moment. April and Will were clapping as well, along with Burt and Shannon. All of the mentors had been watching the two girls with curiosity, mostly out of Adam and Holly's contagious enthusiasm.

"That's our girls!" Holly cheered, high-fiving Adam. Eventually they calmed down and sat back in their seats next to each other, and Holly quietly added, "They can die happy now." Only Adam heard what she said, and he looked at her for a moment before he looked over at April.

"You remember that drink you offered me?"

"The one you just spilt all over the floor?"

"Yeah. I think I'll drink it now."

* * *

"We have to move." Dani mumbled. They pulled away from each other and Santana bent down to pick up the axe, noticing the blood on Dani's hands. She stared at them as she straightened. Dani looked down and took in a sharp breath when she realised what Santana was watching.

"I…" Dani stammered. "He killed Elliot."

"I know." Santana said. She held up the axe so Dani could see the blood that had dried onto the blade. "He killed Noah." They stayed still for another beat before Santana reached out for Dani's hand. Dani took it and they ran off the road and into the nearest store with food. They browsed the shelves for a moment before Santana whined.

"My feet hurt more than I feel hungry."

"Me too." Dani said. "Let's check if there's somewhere to stay in the back." So they moved to the back and found a locked door, which Santana made quick work of with the axe, and they found a room which they assumed was originally intended to be a break room of some sort. There were two vending machines, a desk with some chairs and a couple beat up couches. They settled into one, sitting upright.

"This is so nice." Santana mumbled. Dani nodded in agreement.

"I'm, uh, sorry. By the way." Santana said, wringing her hands. "For nearly killing you back there."

"I was sort of expecting you to swing, if I'm being honest. You seemed pretty wound up." Dani eased Santana's hands apart and intertwined their fingers. "You know," She lowered her voice. "The door was locked. They might not have cameras in here."

"We could check." Santana nodded. "But… I'm too tired for it to matter right now. Let's just go to sleep?"

"Alright." Dani said. "I missed you, you know. On the second day, when four people died? I nearly had a heart attack."

"I think I actually had a heart attack when I woke up to a blizzard the next day." Santana grinned. Dani laughed.

"Well I woke up _in_ the blizzard, so you have _no_ idea."

"Oh don't I?"

"No, you don't. Don't even pretend to try and start with me on this, Lopez. You'll get nowhere." Dani smiled, both of them lying down, Dani's back resting against Santana's front.

"Damn, killing a guy changed you." Santana muttered. Dani made an incredulous noise and rolled over to face the taller girl.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"You heard me." Santana was smiling, so Dani knew she wasn't serious, but, was she _seriously_ doing this?

"I like you too much for your own good." Dani said. Santana smiled and held her closer.

"I missed you too."

* * *

"Move."

"Where's Jesse? I didn't hear a cannon?"

"That's because I didn't kill him." Quinn grunted, waiting for the train to stop completely. She pushed Rachel through the doors when they opened and they made their way up the stairs together. Rachel stopped her.

"I'm sorry, I don't understand?"

"Why would I want to kill him?" Quinn countered.

"Because he was trying to kill you?" Rachel answered.

"I've said this before, but not to you." Quinn grunted, pulling Rachel the rest of the way up the stairs. "I don't do the whole 'revenge' thing. I work on a higher level of motivation because I can afford to." They stepped onto the street together and kept walking, taking the first right turn they came to. "I really am just that good at this."

"What's the motivation then?" Rachel asked. The anthem played above them and Quinn stopped for a moment, thinking, before she answered quietly.

"For the first time in my life and I can do what I want. Just because _they,_" Quinn waved at the emblem in the sky, "Want me to kill someone doesn't mean that I will. Just because Sue is probably flipping her shit over me not killing you, doesn't mean I'll change my mind. I'm going to do what I want." A beeping interrupted her speech. Quinn tilted her head and turned around to see a package floating down from above them, which she caught deftly.

"Though they do seem to like me there." Quinn mumbled, twisting the top open and finding a small black box. She frowned. "I may have spoken to soon just then."

"What is it?" Rachel asked. Quinn tossed her a small black box, made of metal with smooth edges. It had no light, no screen, no screws, and certainly no way of opening it.

"It's fucking useless is what it is. They've essentially given us a useless lump of metal."

"Um, Quinn?"

"Yes, Rach?"

"Is there anyone you actually want to kill?" The smaller girl asked. Quinn laughed.

"Beyond everyone in the Capitol? Yeah. Bree."

* * *

Finn had stopped trailing Rachel as soon as Quinn confronted her. He considered himself lucky to be alive and started to walk along the streets with his club in his hand. The moon was somewhere in the sky above of him, and he was pretty sure it was past midnight now, when he heard muffled sobbing from somewhere to his left. He followed the sound carefully, wondering if maybe he was being tricked into the hands of a Career. Well, he knew it wasn't Quinn, and he doubted Jesse was the crying type, which left that girl from 3 and…

He didn't think she was the crying type either. He turned a corner and found Kurt, sitting on the curb and crying his eyes out. Finn stopped and looked at him.

"I, uh, hello? Kurt?" He said, tentatively. Kurt looked up at him in fright.

"Please kill me."

"What?" Finn jumped slightly. Kurt was looking at him in earnest. "Finn, I want to die, please, please just kill me. Do that for me."

"But… But I don't want to kill you!" Finn rebutted.

"I don't want to be killed by one of them, Finn, please. _Please._" Kurt begged.

"What's to say you can't win this thing?" Finn countered. Kurt laughed. He actually laughed.

"Finn, I'm sitting here, completely defenceless, without any supplies, crying and waiting for someone to kill me. I don't _want_ to win. Please do this for me." Finn stood there, considering it. He didn't _want_ to kill Kurt, but it was easily plausible that Kurt would suffer more if Finn _didn't_ kill him.

It was a matter of morals.

* * *

Dani was woken by the cannon fire. She tightened her grip instinctively and woke up Santana because of it.

"What's happening?" Santana gasped, becoming alert faster than she ever thought she could have.

"Cannon." Dani said, willing her breathing to even out. "What time is it?" She said after.

"Not sure." Santana mumbled. "Let's check the store for intruders then go back to sleep, okay?"

"Okay."


	16. One By One

**A/N: Only two assessments left for me before the end of term! :D Second last chapter guys, how are you coping?**

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen: One By One**

Brody had been making his way from store to store, picking up what he needed and generally doing his best to avoid getting cornered. His leg was starting to hurt slightly less, but he still wasn't in a condition to do any running, and he had a sinking feeling in his gut that today wasn't going to be his day. Which isn't a so great thing if you're in the Hunger Games. He ducked behind a corner as he noticed some shadows coming his way, and was surprised to see Quinn Fabray and the girl from 12 walk past.

Curious.

He really didn't see that coming. But, then again, he hadn't expected Bree to try and kill him in the bloodbath among other things so he figured it would probably be best for his health to forgo any other assumptions he had made. Except he had expected Quinn to notice him despite his lack of movement or breathing – for the most part. When the blonde stopped he pressed himself into the wall behind him as hard as he could manage, praying that she wouldn't see him behind the pillar. She turned around and looked right at him for a moment before she narrowed her eyes.

"If you don't want Bree to find you, you might want to find some new pants." She said. Brody slackened and frowned.

"What?"

"I said, find new pants." Quinn repeated. "The blood is giving off a scent, and the weather's getting warmer. I guarantee, tomorrow will be almost too hot to bear, and Bree will be able to smell you from a mile away."

"Why aren't you killing me?"

"One more person who wants to kill her is a good thing in my books. When you inevitably fail to kill her, you may injure her in the fight. Which will make life easier for me later on." Quinn said.

"You fill me with confidence." Brody grumbled. Quinn scoffed.

"I'm sorry, would the baby like his bottle? Be grateful I'm not killing you now."

"How'd you know I was here?"

"I had a little help." Quinn held something up, which Brody couldn't quite see. "And once I knew you were nearby it was a matter of looking for the signs. The wind is blowing in from that way," Quinn pointed behind Brody, "And your pants smell like blood. If there's a smell that I'm going to recognise, it's dried blood."

"Well… Thank you?" Brody said. Quinn rolled her eyes.

"Next time I see you, you die. Get out of my sight." She ordered. Brody nodded and started back the way he came, while the two girls walked off in the other direction.

* * *

"So we've figured out what this thing does." Quinn mumbled, looking at the black box. A few minutes prior, the two girls had been walking when it started to vibrate. Quinn had quickly gotten to work on figuring out what the buzzing meant, but soon found that the closer she got to another Tribute the more it shook.

"Why didn't you kill him really?" Rachel asked. Quinn didn't react outwardly.

"Didn't want to."

"You seem suspiciously averse to killing people." Rachel said.

"Don't see the point, we've been through this already." Quinn sighed.

"Okay, yeah, so we have. But why are you helping me? And Dani and Santana?" Rachel asked. It had to have been at least the seventh or eighth time she had tried to get an answer out of Quinn, and was once again ignored. Rachel huffed in frustration and tried again.

"Quinn, I need to know why!"

"No you don't."

"Yes I do! You can't hide this forever!" Rachel exclaimed. "You'll have to tell me at some point, you know." She said. Quinn resisted the urge to strangle the shorter girl for a moment, and then faced her.

"That's up to me to decide. And, I _swear_, if you try and get me to tell you again, I'll probably do something really stupid in the heat of the moment. And we really, really don't want that. So let's just keep going." The box jumped to life in her hand and she spoke over Rachel's reply.

"Someone's nearby, let's go."

* * *

Dani and Santana were compatible. Santana was strong and confident and defiant, with a sharp tongue and a stiff sense of humour – lewd jokes aside – she was overall a brutally honest and destructively protective person. Dani, on the other hand, was mellower. She was gentle and emotional and certain, she felt and she reacted with emotions that weren't solely anger. Her protective instincts were high, and she was a quick reader of situations. Not to mention, she was a lot freer with her humour. On the whole, both of the girls were guarded because of their past experiences. Santana had loved her abuela more than anyone else, she still did. Being cast out and disowned by the person she loved most was a hard thing for her, and she still had pain from the afternoon that it had happened. Dani had experienced a similar moment, but while Santana was heavily affected by what her abuela had told her, Dani was solidly scarred by what had happened with her parents. She had barely spoken about it with anyone, even Elliot, because of her optimistic attitude.

The truth was, Dani and Santana were quite similar in their experiences, but their reactions were what defined them truly. Both had been cast out by family members because of things about them that they couldn't change. Santana's abuela was ashamed of her granddaughter because of an old-fashioned way of thinking, and Dani's parents abandoned her because she was the only child they had ever managed to have, and desperately wanted grandchildren because of it. They had raised their little girl to be a mother to their grandkids, and the revelation had been the ultimate betrayal. Dani had flatly refused to believe that she was stuck in that house, so she had grabbed her beaten up guitar and headed out. She resolutely went into every circumstance with hope but rarely opened up to people. She found herself trusting Santana, and instead of worrying about whether that was a great idea or not, she trusted her gut and went with it. Santana was bitter about what happened with her abuela, and had taken it upon herself to protect people she cared about from danger, because that was what she wished people would do for her. What goes around comes around, right?

In any case, all of these things together where the reasons why when they saw shadows rounding the corner, Santana stepped ahead and slightly in front of Dani, while the shorter girl kept a tight hold of her hand and prevented her from flying forward with the axe.

Which was lucky, because Quinn may not have been able to deflect the axe as quickly as the Latina was prepared to move.

Even from watching the half-second or so of interaction, Quinn was certain. "_Getting between Dani and Santana – bad idea."_ She thought.

* * *

"I see you two found each other."

"I could say the same to you, princess." Santana snapped, relaxing her arms and linking her hand back with Dani's. Quinn stayed quiet for a moment.

"That's impractical." She said, nodding at their hands.

"We don't care." Dani answered. "What's the plan from here?"

"The four of us stay together, we watch each other's backs, and we stay away from the other Tributes." Quinn said. Santana looked at Rachel for a moment.

"Has she agreed to not kill us?"

"She won't." Quinn muttered. Santana went to say something else but Dani squeezed her hand so she shut her mouth and frowned at the blue-haired girl.

"Just think for a moment." Dani said, loudly enough for only Santana to hear. "Quinn evidently likes Rachel, probably more than she likes us. For now, we don't want any fights. Right?" Dani looked up and held Santana's gaze for a moment before the Latina sighed.

"Fine."

* * *

"Come out come out wherever you are…" Bree hummed. "Come on Quinnie, let's have some fun…" She had been half singing half mumbling a lullaby or a child's game song for a little while, mace hanging beside her limply and jackets tied around her waist. Her shoes were starting to wear thin and if she cared enough to pay any attention she would notice how much her feet and calves were aching. Her lips were cracked and her throat was dry, and her stomach was begging for food, but she ignored all of that and kept walking aimlessly through the city, looking for the blonde girl with hazel eyes who she was going to kill. Night fell and Kurt's face hung in the sky. Bree kept walking but subconsciously started heading towards the sidewalk so she could be concealed from view more easily if someone went past. She stumbled on the curb and crashed into the concrete, barely throwing her hands out in time to stop her chin from smashing into the ground. She attempted to get up but only managed to push herself into a store window, where she finally gave up and collapsed.

* * *

Brody had ended up exchanging his pants for shorts and stripping off his t-shirt on the seventh day of the Hunger Games. He had figured out, much like everyone else at this point, that the Arena was cycling through the seasons, switching every two days. He found himself stopping regularly to grab a new water bottle, which he would drain in the time it took him to walk across four blocks and then sweat out shortly afterwards. He was grateful for how readily available food, water, clothing and shade were in the Arena, otherwise he would've been hallucinating wildly by this point in the afternoon. It was too hot for words and he had stopped noticing the sweat rolling down his back hours ago. His leg was getting better, enough so that he had jogged along the occasional block to keep his muscles from seizing up too badly. He retreated into stores periodically to massage his feet and calves, and to check the wound on his leg. It had healed over now, but was still raw and yellow. He would ice it whenever her passed a supermarket and had avoided people in general the entire day, which he was pleased about. There was no need for him to have further confrontation until he was ready, and he was slowly making his way back towards the Cornucopia so that he could get a weapon. The next time he met someone, he would be ready. He would be ready for whatever was thrown at him in the following days.

* * *

Jesse's rage was as uncontrollable as it was fearsome. When he was mad he was a creature of sheer destruction, and the only thing that stopped him from being a truly unstoppable force was the presence of an immovable object. As any quality philosopher knows, it is impossible for there to be both in existence simultaneously. There can only ever be one, or the other. The fact of the matter is, that for one to exist the other must be a fake. Assuming the trainers in District 1 knew this, they had been building Jesse and Quinn to compete with each other completely on purpose, knowing that one day, one child would overpower the other and the two that had been forever locked in a never-ending dance of impossibility would be free, one on this plane and one in the next. If they had not been aware, then they had been subconsciously building the two for a fight of ages, to end a war waged between two children for fifteen years. And unfortunately for Jesse, Quinn did what she had only ever been meant for. She proved to be the winner, the champion, the victor. In the endless conflict between the truths behind each of their titles that neither had been given, Quinn had triumphed, as she was always going to. Jesse could not be the unstoppable force because Quinn was the immovable object.

In all his life, only one person had beaten Jesse St. James. Which is why in only a few short minutes, he would be the most shocked person of all to find that he had never been the one in the running as the unstoppable force in the first place. He would learn that there was more than the one, obvious person who would be able to beat him. The second would come in from behind and professionally remove Jesse from the premises, with or without a fight if necessary. There would be blood and bone involved, and the second would take their place as the one who could conceivably take the title of immovable force from Quinn Fabray. Jesse didn't see, hear or sense the second coming up behind him, partly due to their silence and partly to do with his focus on the pain in his wrist that seemingly refused to go away. The second made the pain in his wrist feel like a mosquito bite in comparison before he stopped feeling altogether.

* * *

Bree crouched and looked into Jesse's glassy stare and quietly mumbled curses at him, saying that he had to die, that it was his fault because he got in her way, because he wasn't the one she was looking for. She stood straight and moved on, walking into the night until she passed out for the second night in a row, on the side of the street and out of sight, still clutching the mace and the jackets, even though she had long forgotten why she wanted to keep them.

* * *

On the other side of the Arena, hours before Bree fainted, Quinn stopped the girls in their march to look at the sky, an unreadable expression on her face as she looked up at the boy who had been her lifelong competition and companion. Dani and Santana stood off to the side and just watched while Rachel looked between the blonde and the boy in the sky before she pressed the three middle fingers of her right hand to her lips and then raised them to the sky. After a moment the other two girls mimicked the action until finally Quinn joined them in the gesture, without lifting her hand to the sky.

"Who do you think it was?" Rachel broke the eerie silence around them. Quinn watched the sky as Jesse's face vanished. Rachel was reminded of the first night on the roof in the Capitol, when Quinn had refused to look at her.

"I know who it was." She answered, watching the stars.

* * *

"We're at the end game now." Cassandra said, walking into the main room on the morning of day nine. The tension among the mentors was high, mostly between Will and Sue. The previous night Sue had pitched a fit and flipped over multiple tables, and also destroyed the coffee machine in a rage at the death of Jesse St. James. Sue was fuming, and had chosen to direct her anger at Will because both of his kids were still alive.

"Quinn is going to win anyway, Sue!" Will finally exclaimed. "Can you remember any Tribute being able to afford to not kill another Tribute on sight and make it out alive anyway? No! Because it's never happened before!"

"Calm down, Will, please." Emma said quietly. Will hesitated for a moment, locked into Sue's glare. Eventually he sighed and sat back down beside the redhead and kept watching the monitors.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Cassie." Holly muttered. "There's still one more definite loser to go."

"Who, the 12 boy?" Cassandra scoffed. Holly laughed.

"No. Your boy." Holly sipped her drink. "I'd say I'm sorry to disappoint, but I'm really not. Plastic there is going to go down before Quinn starts getting serious again."

"What's your _expert_ diagnostic then, Holiday?" Cassandra snapped.

"Brody will be killed before the group splits up. Quinn will resist killing Dani or Santana, I think, mostly because she's given them her word that she wouldn't. I don't know what's going on with her and Rachel, though." Shelby interrupted the conversation.

"What about Finn?"

"I'm sorry. He's never going to win. But the rest of the girls…" Shelby shrugged. "It depends on the details. I don't think any of them are really a clear front-runner, not even Quinn. They've all surprised us so far."

"Well… I propose a toast." Adam said, holding up his glass. "To the losers of the Hunger Games."

"Hear hear." Holly said, clinking her glass with his. "Now let's ride these Games out to the end and go home."

* * *

"We should go back to the Cornucopia." Santana said. Quinn grunted in disagreement.

"Hell no." she said. "We have weapons, that's the only thing we'll find there other than trouble. Not worth it."

"Why are you in charge, again?" Santana snapped. Dani rubbed her thumb in circles across the back of Santana's hand as a warning.

"Do you want to go there right now Lopez, or will I have to beat your ass down like I did back at Training?"

"Try me, princess."

"San." Dani said, doing her best to diffuse the situation yet _again._ "But really Quinn, I'm sort of failing to see the purpose in us staying together when there's only three other Tributes left." Dani said. Quinn narrowed her eyes.

"Okay."

"Huh?" Dani flinched, ever aware that Quinn's knives were always in arms reach for her.

"Don't get too jumpy, Taylor. I was only going to say that once the next person gets killed, we can all go our separate ways. Or our not so separate ways, if that's what you want." Quinn said, sharing a nod with Santana. "What do you think, Rachel?"

"I think that's probably very sensible."

"My birthday is in three days." Dani said, suddenly.

"We'll probably have split off before then." Quinn frowned.

"I know." Dani shook her head. "I meant, it's my birthday in three days, and I totally forgot that… It was something that I was striving to get to." She said. Santana smiled at her softly and Quinn gave an uneasy answer.

"I won't kill you before then. My treat. Your present." She said. All three girls looked at her, marginally confused.

"What?" She said. "Oh, fuck." Quinn scowled. "I need to stop hanging around you guys, you're making me feel obliged to be all… Nice. It's disgusting."

"Don't be so sure, princess." Santana responded, smiling fully.

"Yeah, nice kinda suits you, blondie." Dani grinned.

"When you aren't so focused on being a vindictive harpie, you're mostly tolerable." Rachel added. Quinn huffed for a moment until Santana poked her side.

"Lighten up, Q, we won't bite. We know you bite back harder."

"And, let's face it, you're pretty alright when you aren't threatening to kill us." Dani murmured.

"You're making me into a softy on national television in the Hunger Games. You're basically handing me excuses to do the deed in a gilded chest."

"I'm sure you're thinking of a different deed from us to Rachel." Dani smirked. Quinn glared at her for a moment until Santana spouted out "Wanky." And then all four girls fell into peels of laughter. While Dani and Santana were still composing themselves, Rachel quickly whispered into Quinn's ear.

"It's okay, girlfriend, we won't hurt you. It's just some fun among friends."

"Yeah," Quinn said, dropping her smile. "Friends."


	17. Losing the Losers

**A/N: Second last chapter guys! We're nearly at the end! I'm loving getting the reviews (hint hint send more please please pretty please)!**

**Also, the final chapter is nearly twice as long as the shortest one, because there was no place for me to break it up that was sensible without having the nineteenth chapter being cruelly short, and I'm not really that mean, so while the next chapter is the last one, ****it's nice and long.**

**See you at the finish line!**

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen: Losing the Losers**

Seneca sighed and watched the four dots on the screen all clumped together. He had three others, all the way over on the other side of the Arena, and it was too late in the competition for him to do anything too drastic to the Tributes in case he killed them accidentally.

"We could speed up the cycle, sir." One of his advisors said. He frowned slightly and shook his head.

"It won't be enough for drama. I propose that we head into the next season as per usual, but I think I have an idea for what to do next." He sat up and folded his arms. "But do me a favour and make it windy as possible now, I don't want those girls getting too comfortable."

* * *

"We're going to need to get new jackets."

"Did we pass any stores on the way here?"

"I'm really not looking forward to it snowing again."

"'Cause of Elliot?"

"Yeah." A pause. "What if the fog comes back?" Silence.

"Who's to say that it'll definitely come back? In any case, you'll be seeing it to spring."

"I really hope so."

"How long do you think we could make these Games go on for?" Quinn was woken by the sound of the three other girls talking quietly on the other side of the lobby. She was certain that Rachel was the person who had just spoken, but the blonde had yet to open her eyes.

"I'm not sure. Not much longer, to be honest." Dani said. Quinn willed her eyes to open and got to her feet so that she could sit with them. The sound of her boots hitting the floor got their attention and they all looked over.

"How long have you been awake, Q?" Santana asked.

"'We're going to need to get new jackets.'" Quinn answered, sitting down between the two brunettes. "I feel like we're going to have a game-changer today or tomorrow. We'll probably be splitting off soon, so I propose we go get what we're going to need when the snow comes now so that we won't worry about it at the time." Santana and Dani shared a look.

"Quinn, why are you helping us with stuff that'll probably-" Dani was cut off by dust falling from the ceiling above them and a faint tremor beneath them. All four girls scrambled to their feet and ran for the door. Rachel and Santana had the foresight to leave their weapons near the door where they could pick them up in a hurry – or that may have been Quinn's idea, but who's counting? – So both girls scooped them up and ran out of the building after Quinn and Dani with little trouble. They ran in a line, Quinn leading and Rachel bringing up the rear, down the road and around the corner where they skidded to a stop and bent over to catch their breaths.

"That really needs to stop happening." Santana muttered, earning a chuckle from Dani.

"It's too cold for us to only be wearing shirts out here." Rachel said. "Quinn, do you know where we can find clothes nearby?" The three girls watched as Quinn looked around, gauging where they were in the city and nodded.

"This way." The blonde started to walk and the other girls followed, Dani's question forgotten in the heat of the moment, and Quinn's black box was under the rubble.

* * *

Bree was on someone's tail. She wasn't sure who it was, but seeing as it wasn't Quinn, she didn't really care. She had confirmed that they definitely weren't female, which left Donkey Face and Frankenteen. When she carefully rounded the final corner to catch up to him and was faced with Brody, she had a small reality check. She suddenly realised that she recognised the street they were on, and were in fact headed back towards the Cornucopia. Bree felt words leaving her mouth before she planned them to, but it didn't matter.

She had looked forward to killing this one, too.

"Weston! Long time no see." Bree's voice sounded harsh, like it hadn't been above a whisper in days. Brody froze, looked over his shoulder at the girl who he had been avoiding for ten days and broke into a shaky sprint.

* * *

"What's that?" Dani asked, pointing at Rachel's wrist. She had meant to ask yesterday but kept getting distracted. Rachel looked down at the bracelet and smiled fondly.

"My dads gave it to me at the Reaping. To remind me that I'm always their star."

"That's really…" Dani frowned. "Wait, dads plural?"

"Didn't you watch my Interview, Dani?"

"Oh, yeah! Yeah I did! I mean I just… Right."

"What's getting you, babe?" Santana said. The Latina blushed slightly when she realised that she had let the term of endearment slip, but no one commented on it so she decided to let it go. Dani bit her lip and sighed.

"Were their parents okay with it?"

"With what, Dani?" Rachel asked.

"With them being… You know." She sighed again. "Gay."

"It was never a problem with my grandparents, sorry. The concept isn't that beastly in a place like District 12." Rachel answered, shrugging. The look of somewhat dejectedness on both Dani and Santana's faces wasn't lost on her, so she changed the subject. "Do you guys have tokens?"

"We brought our best friends with us." Santana chuckled, the sound feeling dead and wrong.

* * *

Bree was chasing after Brody with all she had and a lot that she didn't. He turned the next corner and she sprinted after him, gripping onto her mace, ready to swing. She could hear him grunting with the effort of running, so she spoke again.

"Is your leg still sore from where I got you, Weston?" She shouted, straining to get the sound out. She had barely spoken in days. "C'mon donkey face, tell me how it feels to know you're about to die!" He tripped in front of her and skidded to a stop on the tarmac, rolling onto his front and clambering back to his feet. He was running out of distance between him and his executioner. He hit the grass of the park around the Cornucopia and his boots slipped on the dewy grass, sending him to the ground yet again. He got to his feet again, grunting in pain and streaking down towards the Cornucopia and the weapons.

* * *

The girls were now sitting on the curb, each eating an apple and wearing a jacket.

"Quinn?"

"Yes?"

"Why did you give us advice on how to survive when we won't be with you anymore?" Dani asked. Quinn frowned for a moment.

"That's what friends do, isn't it?" she answered. "They look out for each other, right?"

"Don't you know?" Santana joked. Quinn looked at her.

"Not really, no. I've never had a friend before."

"What about Jesse?" Dani asked. Quinn shrugged.

"He wasn't my friend."

"If you could go back to the Reaping," Rachel spoke slowly, "Would you still volunteer?"

"I don't know."

* * *

Brody hit the cobblestone surface running and headed towards the Cornucopia, Bree hot on his heels. He had almost reached the supplies when he heard her grunt "Not so fast, Weston." And got jumped on. He crashed to the floor and rolled, quickly trapping her underneath him.

"Don't count on it." He snapped. Bree growled.

"You're such a loser, Donkey Face." She flipped them over and broke the mace over his head.

* * *

They were still sitting when the cannon fired. All four girls froze and looked up at the sound of the cannon. Rachel was the first to stand up.

"So, uh, I-" She stammered. Quinn quickly stood as well.

"Good luck to you." She said, looking at all three girls. "May the odds be ever in your favour."

"Yeah." Rachel agreed. Dani and Santana stayed on the curb and nodded together.

"May the best man win." Dani said.

"So long as it isn't Bree." Santana added, for Quinn's benefit. There was another moment of awkward silence before Quinn turned and walked away. Rachel did the same barely a second later, which left Dani and Santana on their own.

"You aren't going to go, right?" Santana whispered. Dani shook her head; no. She wouldn't leave Santana.

"Never." She answered softly, kissing the side of Santana's head. The two girls stood up and walked straight ahead to avoid meeting with Rachel or Quinn until they absolutely had to.

* * *

Bree hadn't needed to move like that in days. She was more tired than she thought. So she tucked herself into the back of the Cornucopia and pulled Brody's jacket tightly around her shoulders, feeling the chill of the metal through her layers. She would wait here for Quinn. Quinn would come and then it would all be over. Quinn wouldn't come for her until the end, she told herself, and if it snowed again she could hide in the buildings nearby. That was all she needed until the blonde confronted her. Shelter.

* * *

Finn was frightened. He would admit, the way the city went foggy at night in it's autumn setting was really unsettling, and if he was being honest he was really worried about a monster or another Tribute coming out of the dark and killing him in one fell swoop. He had been there every night when the faces appeared in the sky, and he went numb whenever he thought about the fact that he had made it to the last six Tributes. He had outlived eighteen other kids, and there were only five left standing between him and victory. There was Rachel, the mysterious girl from his home who he had always been a little scared of and never built the courage to talk to because he didn't want to see her angry. There was that girl from District 3 who totally freaked him out. There was Danielle from 5, who had spoken to him a few times in Training and seemed nice enough. He vaguely remembered someone named Santana having a fight with Danielle, as well. He was pretty sure the other girl was still alive now. He briefly wondered if, maybe, if he was lucky, those two would be so hell-bent on killing each other that they wouldn't give him much attention. And, finally, there was Quinn.

Quinn Fabray.

He was fucking terrified of Quinn Fabray. Just as he should've been. He was lost in his thoughts when he saw a figure moving the fog at an intersection ahead of him. He gripped his club tighter, ready to fight, when he noticed the quiver on the girl's back. He twirled the club so it was facing behind him, and he followed her carefully.

* * *

Quinn felt strange. She was experiencing an unfamiliar sensation that seemed to ache around her ribs, and she also felt slightly lightheaded. She had no fever or physical ailment, so she had assumed that she simply needed a good nights sleep and it would be gone in the morning. She woke up on the eleventh day, expecting snow but receiving rain. The smell of it hitting the ground was familiar and fond to Quinn. District 1 wasn't known for its rainy days, so when they came around, she and Jesse had always been allowed to stay home. At first, Quinn hated it. The rain. It meant she had to stay at home and play with her sister, who was never any fun because she didn't know how to fight. But as Quinn had entered her teens and her hate ran deeper than the novelty of rainy days, she grew to love them. On rainy days she was allowed to sit alone on her balcony and think what she wanted. She would read, and study. On rainy days Quinn devoted herself to riddles and puzzles and problems, and sometimes she would just sit and brush her hair for hours, simply to fight the monotony, while she watched the rain, breathed in the damp, cool air, smelled the soaked ground and contemplated her purpose. Adolescent and foolish though she knew it was, she still loved it. Rain always reminded her of calm and peace and quiet. But that day, the eleventh day of the Hunger Games, Quinn sat behind the store windows and watched the rain hit the ground and scatter as it pleased.

Or maybe as the Capitol dictated.

Quinn thought about that for a moment. The rain was a natural occurrence, but the Capitol put the clouds there. Did the way each droplet fall and scatter belong to the rain, or the Capitol? Did the movement of the water choose it's own path, or was it totally decided by the Capitol?

_Why did her chest still feel empty?_

Quinn thought further. The rain belonged to the Capitol, the city belonged to the Capitol, the ground belonged to the Capitol. Every inch of property from District 1 to District 12 belonged to the Capitol. The work, the grain, the animals, even the people. Quinn gritted her teeth. She still belonged to the Capitol. She _still_ wasn't her own person, even now, and she never would be. She resisted the urge to throw one of her knives and instead stayed still, deciding to focus on the sensation in her chest. It felt like her sternum had simply vanished. She buried her face into her hands as she desperately tried to understand the feeling. Feeling was still the only thing that she could not fathom fully. Or at all, for that matter. She recognized the connotations of the tingle but refused to accept the meaning she had been taught to associate it with. If her general knowledge was right, she would be feeling as though something was missing.

But nothing was missing. She was alone, as she had always been, and always intended to be.

Yet, for some reason, she was wishing that she could have just one more day, one more hour with Dani and Santana. To laugh and tease and have fun. She wanted to have her friends back, and she wanted to be able to keep them forever. She was filled with a longing of something she had only had for a few short days. She wanted to have Rachel sitting beside her, being too close but too far and intolerable but lovable at the same time.

"Surely I can do without it." Quinn mumbled, pulling her knees to her chest. "I went eighteen years without it, why not now?" But she knew better, that just because you could live without something before you had it didn't mean you could survive once you had. She knew that because before she had never been happy, not for a second of her life. Though the rain gave her peace, it never brought joy. The rain could only make the mere change of a scowl to a small smile, but never anything more. For the first time Quinn had lived instead of existed, and she didn't want to go back.

But she had to.

Because even more than that, she wasn't ready to die yet.

* * *

"Ok-kay, so sleeping outs-side wasn't the best," Dani stumbled over her next word three times and huffed. "Idea." She finally spat out. She was completely soaked to the bone, and damn tired of waking up in terrible weather conditions. Her clothes were hanging off of her and weighing her down, and her hair was dripping insistently. Santana was fairing no better.

"Well, come on then." Santana pulled Dani along the aisle, looking for dry clothes that they could change into, that would also keep them warm and be marginally protective. Dani followed her, their hands still linked. Every now and again Dani would trip on her own feet and Santana would catch her each time, slowly getting more worried about the blue haired girl. As a result of this, she let Dani sit down while she walked around and got clothes for them both to change into. She found Dani again and handed her the clothes she had picked out.

"I hope they fit." Santana smiled. Dani nodded back and reached out to take them, dropping the shoes and socks provided and cursing.

"Shit, sorry, my hands are just really cold."

"I'll help you warm them up once we get changed, babe." Santana smiled, getting a hopeful smile back from the plumber. Santana helped Dani get to the change rooms where they both changed and then made their way back to the front of the store, where they had left the food, water and axe. They found an armchair, which they cuddled into together, Dani in Santana's lap. Santana didn't fail to notice how red Dani's nose was.

"Are you okay?" She asked softly.

"Yeah! I'm fine!" Dani answered hastily, curling more into the other girl. Santana knew she was lying; anyone who answers a question that quickly is lying. But she figured there was still time to keep her safe, so she kept running her fingers through Dani's hair and whispering sweet nothings into her ear.

"It's okay, baby." She said, leaning down and kissing the corner of Dani's mouth. Dani turned her head slightly and kissed her back for a moment before she turned her head away and coughed, hard. The sound was coming from deep in her chest and it scared Santana more than she could say.

"You're sick."

"I know."

"Do you think-"

"Maybe. Maybe not." Dani said, cutting her off. "It doesn't matter. Anything's better than being killed."

* * *

Bree was hiding back inside the closest building to the Cornucopia, which had some food and water. She was consuming both regularly to keep her strength up, no matter how sick it was making her feel. She would wait. She would wait forever, so long as she got to kill Quinn at the end of it.

* * *

The rain had stopped in the afternoon, so Quinn had naturally pulled on her extra jacket and started to walk. She was on the track back to the Cornucopia, but didn't really feel like finding her surprise there just yet, so she instead trudged through the bitter cold, tugging her scarf to her nose and her sleeves over her gloves. Her knives lay in her hands, for she saw no reason to hold them anywhere else. She had run out of excuses to not kill people. She was out of time, just like everyone else in the Arena. In the distance, she could see a tall figure that could only belong to the remaining boy in the Games. Quinn was going to get closer until she had a guaranteed hit, and then kill him with ease, just as she was supposed to. It wasn't until she was almost ready to kill him when she saw that Finn was, in fact, following Rachel.

_Rachel_.

Quinn believed that she thought about Rachel the same way she did about rainy days. At first, she hated. She hated because it was new and different and restricting, until she realized that, new as she was, Rachel was _far_ from restricting. Because, right then, Quinn was feeling stronger than ever. She felt she had purpose. Her hands were trembling with the wish to take his life so that she could protect the girl, but it wasn't as simple as just killing him now. Because Rachel was there, on the other end of the block. So Quinn crept closer still and considered her options. The boy was far too tall for her to simply kill him, so she would have to restrain him silently before she could take his life. She noted his club carefully and decided on a basic silent takedown, for someone with nearly a foot of height on her. She jumped up and swung her arm around his face to prevent him from crying out and kicked the club out of his hand. They wrestled for a moment but Quinn ultimately pinned him face down on the ground, in a position that would likely tear one or many of his tendons if he moved too quickly, or at all.

"Were you going to kill her?"

"Aren't you?" Finn said back. Quinn jerked his arm and he hissed in pain.

"So you were?"

"Yeah, I mean, I guess? That's what I'm supposed to do now, right?"

"No it's not." Quinn snarled. "No one gets to kill her." She slipped her knife out and pressed it against his throat. She paused for a moment before she killed him. She was quick to remove herself from the site and started back in the direction of the Cornucopia.

* * *

Rachel was alone again. She had considered going back to the train station, but had found that the entrance was closed off. She was at the supplies station, which she soon learned was just by the park that seemed to encompass the entire city. It seemed to just stretch on forever, but she knew better than that. The cannon fire a few hours ago had taken her by surprise, but she had ignored it for the most part. Rachel was now following the park down back to where she thought the lake was, but couldn't be sure. When night fell and snow fell with it, she retreated inside with the determination to keep walking the next day. She saw Finn's face in the sky and felt nothing, having not known the boy very well. She chuckled at a thought that crossed her mind.

"In another life, we could've fallen in love."


	18. The Fall Of Quinn Fabray

**A/N: This is it guys! This is the end! I'm posting before school because I have literally no time after, so I'm sorry to change it up for the last chapter but it's either coming a few hours early or a day late, and I figured you'd like it better this way. Please make sure to tell me what you think of it when you're done and I'm also in the process of writing a severely more fluffy character-deathless Dantana fanfiction, so when I've finished that I'll be putting it up.**

**And this chapter is a good 5,000 words, so it's taking you write through to the end.**

**Thanks for reading!**

* * *

**Chapter Eighteen: The Fall Of Quinn Fabray**

A long time ago, when Santana was only ten or eleven, her abuela had gotten sick. She remembered it vividly, because for a few days they weren't sure if she would survive. Santana could remember crying for hours when she had come home from school to her mother, waiting to tell her that her abuela might not make it. She stayed at Noah's house for the next few days, not wanting to play with him and constantly trying to sneak back to her home to check on her abuela. And now, she was reliving the horror of someone she loved being on the edge of death from sickness, and not being able to help.

"San, we are going to keep moving until we find somewhere that we can stay warm."

"Why couldn't we stay warm where we were last night?"

"Because the windows were lined with ice, obviously." Dani tripped again, and Santana caught her. Again.

"Please can we go into the next building?"

"No, San, we need to find somewhere-" Dani slipped and sprawled onto the snow. Santana jumped to her knees and pulled her up.

"We're going inside, come on." Santana insisted, guiding Dani to the sidewalk. "In here, let's go." She opened the door and ushered Dani inside. She left the axe on the counter out the front and looked at the store.

"Furniture. It's a furniture store." Santana said.

"This is madness." Dani mumbled. They both heard a soft beeping from outside somewhere and turned to look for its source.

"Stay here." Santana said, grabbing the axe and going back out into the blizzard. There was a metal box with a silver parachute sitting in the snow. Santana dived onto it and went back into the store.

"What is it, San?" Dani asked, watching the other girl shut the door and set the axe down while holding the package close.

"Happy birthday, Dani." Santana said, setting the container down. "Let's see what you got."

* * *

When Dani had woken up sick on the twelfth day of the Hunger Games, Adam and Holly had jumped into action. Together they had crashed out of the common area and ran to the sponsors viewing area, just down the corridor from them. They burst in and immediately got to work, pitching for the medicine to be delivered.

"I still fail to see why you are here, Holly." One of the sponsors said. Holly glared at him.

"I'm here because my boy Adam is new to this, and my girl Santana is out there taking care of Dani."

"Do we need to remind you that a deal was made? It's her _birthday_ today, let's give her something." Adam said. "Where's Caesar?"

"I'm right here, give me a second to finish signing the paper."

"What paper?"

"The one confirming that I want medicine to be sent to Danielle-"

"Dani!" Holly and Adam interrupted.

"Dani Taylor." Caesar corrected.

* * *

Rachel could see Santana and Dani sitting together in the store through the window. She didn't have the heart to kill them. She didn't. But she had to. She had seen Santana in the snow, picking something up, and had quickly followed her back and pulled out an arrow. And there they were. Just sitting there, over the package. Dani looked pale and tired, and her eyes and nose were red. Rachel knew what had to be in the container, it was obviously going to be medicine. She was faced with a serious dilemma. On one hand, these girls had to die for her to live. If she killed Santana, Dani wouldn't get her medicine. Santana would die, Dani would die, and it was all very simple. But she quite liked them, and she liked them together, and it was cruel to kill them on Dani's birthday.

But this was the Hunger Games.

Rachel carefully pushed the door open, her bow raised and ready to fire. She was going to go for a lung shot on Santana, which was a risky move from behind. That was okay, though, because much like during the Bloodbath, she didn't _really_ want to kill Santana. All the same, she released the bowstring and watched as the arrow whizzed through the air and hit Santana in the back.

* * *

It all happened too quickly, from Dani's point of view. One moment, Santana was there, mixing the medicine into the soup and the next the girl was gasping, soup was everywhere and red was seeping into Santana's clothes.

"San!" Dani shucked off all of her blankets in one go and hopped to the floor to check what had happened to Santana when she saw the arrow sticking out of her back and realized that Santana was literally struggling to breathe.

"No, no, no!" Dani cried, she really cried, watching Santana choke on her own blood. "No, no…" She wasn't sure if she was shaking Santana or hugging her but even through all of her panic she heard the cannon fire and looked up at Rachel, who was standing by the door, eyes wide.

"Dani, Dani I-"

"Don't…" Dani sighed, her voice shaking. "I know. I do." She looked down at Santana and was overwhelmed by how calm she felt, though that may have been to do with how fuzzy her head felt and the way she couldn't feel her chest at all. Santana was dead and Dani was alone again.

"Dani, do you want me to go?" Rachel asked. Dani shook her head.

"I'm going to stay here. You just knocked my medicine everywhere, so I'm probably just…" Dani let a sob pass, so she took a moment to compose herself before she continued. "Going to go sit in the snow." She kept watching Santana until her vision was blurred by tears. She heard Rachel whisper "Okay." And leave.

* * *

It didn't make sense, she was eighteen now. She was supposed to be proud of herself, for making it this far. She chuckled lowly.

"Happy birthday to me." She jibed. Santana's death was meant to be some huge climax, _her_ death was meant to be some huge climax. It turned out that she was wrong, though. Dani reflected on this while she sat in the snow, no longer able to feel or move her feet and hands. She, like everyone else, had believed herself to be the main character in the story of her life. As it turned out, she was still only the extra to someone else's. The purpose of her life belonged to whoever won the Hunger Games. Dani slowly felt colder and colder, until it was all she could think about. A little while after it was getting almost too cold to bear, Dani stopped feeling cold. There was a little voice in the back of her mind telling her that this wasn't a good thing, and she needed to find shelter, but the rest of her head felt like it was humming, because she was warm now, which meant she was safe, right? In fact, she found the snow _so_ cosy; she could just drift off to sleep. The little voice persisted, but she was too tired to bother. She would be fine there. It was funny; she couldn't even remember why she had gone out in the snow in the first place. She would be fine in the morning.

* * *

Rachel was huddled inside when she heard Dani's cannon fire. She felt sick. She was so ashamed of herself, but she knew there was nothing to be done about it. She had killed Santana Lopez, and a by-product of that was signing Dani Taylor's execution papers. She had ended them both.

* * *

The mentors heard Holly and Adam crashing back down the corridor and all cleared away from the door before it flew open and revealed the two very much fed up mentors, both breathing heavily, red faced and seething.

"Are you _fucking kidding_ me!?" Holly shouted, storming up to Will and grabbing the front of his shirt. "Are you absolutely _fucking kidding me _right now?" She repeated. Only a second later she was being pulled back by Shannon.

"Calm down, sister. It's not his fault what his girl did."

"We _just_ got them the medicine!" Holly screamed, still trying to lunge for him. "They were going to be fine and your _fucking Tribute_ killed her! I can't _believe_ this!"

"Adam, are you alright?" Shelby asked, ignoring Holly's outburst. He shook his head. It was easy to see that he was tense, the way his jaw was clenched.

"That was the first time I ever got a sponsor to give one of my Tributes a gift." He grunted. "I'm more than a little disappointed right now."

"Do you want a drink?" She asked.

"Please."

* * *

Quinn was in a building near the edge of the park, waiting for the Capitol's anthem to play. She had a feeling that she knew who had died, but she still wanted the conformation. When Dani's face appeared in the sky, with her old blonde hair, Quinn knew. She felt tears pricking the corners of her eyes, but resisted the emotion. Santana's face appeared next, and tears slipped out of her eyes against her wishes. She wiped them away with her sleeves and sighed. She was a mess. Just nineteen days ago she had been Quinn Fabray. Right now she was a shell, tucked away in a corner, frightened of confrontation because of what it entailed. This is why she wasn't supposed to like people. Liking meant attachment, attachment meant weakness. She was _weak._ She felt – she scoffed at that – like she was born into a life, into an existence that wasn't her own. Like she didn't fit in to where she was. She was just a girl, a young girl who was fond of rainy days and too dysfunctional to admit that she enjoyed having friends and would've done any number of crazy things to keep them safe. She didn't want to go outside now because she was so close to the Cornucopia, and she knew that was where Bree was waiting for her. Waiting for Quinn. She didn't want to go there yet because it was too cold, and she couldn't leave Rachel until last, because she was scared of what she might do in the heat of the moment. She was foolish, she was just a foolish girl hiding behind a person who hadn't just been hand made, but put together brick by brick around her. Her walls were down for the first time in years, and Lucy knew that if she were challenged now she would die, because Lucy wasn't a killer. Lucy was a young girl out of her depth, and, at least until the morning, she was on her own.

She wanted to sleep because rest was the only way she would be able to put Quinn back together, but she didn't because Quinn would go out and kill Rachel, and then Bree, and then she would be stuck forever, permanently in limbo. She would have to be Quinn forever, because that was what the Capitol wanted, and Lucy cried because she didn't want to be what the Capitol wanted, and because she was scared of being forgotten, which she surely would now. No one had ever wanted Lucy, and here she was, having been forgotten even by herself after so many years.

"Come on, Q." She whispered. "Get it together." She fell asleep soon after that, dreading seeing the sun of the next morning.

* * *

The sun rose over a spring setting in the Arena. It was symbolic, the new dawn and the season of life. Everyone watching at home, and all three girls left in the Arena knew that today was going to bring the deaths of two more people. The day had a certain finality to it, and Quinn burst out onto the street with a renewed strength and determination to bring down Bree.

Even though she had to kill Rachel first.

She walked into the park and was walking through the grass when she sensed a disturbance behind her and twisted to the side as an arrow whizzed past.

"Nice try, Rachel." She said. "Once again, not good enough. It's a lot harder to kill me than you think." Rachel had already loaded her bow again and was pointing the arrow at Quinn's face with a set expression on her face, but Quinn's next words forced her to lower her bow.

"I was wrong."

"What?"

"Rachel, I'm going to kill you." Quinn said, not moving. Rachel kept her bow lowered and frowned.

"Do you want to?"

"No."

"Then why not wait? Why not kill Bree first?" Rachel asked. Quinn shook her head.

"I can't." Quinn said. "I literally can't." She could feel that Rachel was itching to raise her bow again, so she threw her knives down as a peace offering. Rachel didn't know about the spare in her back pocket. But Quinn needed her to put the bow and arrow down.

"Then why..."

"Because I don't want to. Put the bow down. No weapons, just talk. Just this once."

"Quinn, please don't kill me." Rachel said, letting the bow fall out of her grip.

"You kept asking me why I was helping Dani and Santana. You answered the question for me, but you don't know you did."

"Did I?"

"They were my friends." Quinn felt freer from saying the words, but at the same time the vice around her chest constricted. She fought the claustrophobic feeling and did her best to pay attention to what Rachel was saying.

"I… Oh." Rachel said. "Why did you help me?"

"The same reason why I don't want to kill you."

"Which is?" Rachel asked. Quinn hesitated.

"I can't tell you that."

"If you're going to kill me anyway, I feel I have the right to know."

"No, Rachel," Quinn took a step forward, gesturing wildly to disguise the distance change. "I can't. I actually can't. The only way I'll be able to say it is after you're dead, or…" Quinn sighed and stepped closer again.

"Can you explain? I'm sure you can find some way to help me understand, you always do." Rachel said, her voice calm but her eyes pleading. Quinn could feel the three words pounding in her head, begging to be let out, but she couldn't. She couldn't.

"Since I saw you, I haven't been able to stop thinking about you." Quinn said. "There hasn't been a second where you haven't been on my mind, and that scared me at first. Like, it really, _really_ scared me, which only scared me more, because I'm Quinn. I don't feel." She took another step and continued. "And yet, you stayed there in my mind. So I finally thought about it last night, and I figured it out. Why I can't stop thinking about you. Why I don't want to kill you."

"So why can't you tell me?"

"You would understand if I did." Quinn murmured. "There's no other way of explaining it. But I'm not going to say it." She finished. Rachel frowned at her for a moment.

"What were you wrong about?"

"We are alike." Quinn answered. "Too alike. But I had to tell you that. I was wrong."

"We're alike?" Rachel scoffed. "No, Quinn,_ I_ was wrong. We aren't alike. For example, I can't kill without feeling bad."

"I-"

"I can kill, sure. I can hunt, and I can fight, but I could never do it like you can."

"Rach-"

"Because you know what, Quinn? I'm not a monster. I killed Santana and I wish I hadn't. I wish I could take it back, but I can't, and I know you wouldn't take back killing Finn."

"Rachel, I-"

"Save it, Quinn. I know you say you don't want to kill me, but if you can't tell me why then I'm not going to buy it." One second Rachel was standing by her bow and the next; she was pinned up against a tree, gagging against the pressure on her neck.

"Don't you get it!?" Quinn screamed, tearing away. Rachel had been so caught up in her speech that she hadn't noticed the frustrated tears streaming down Quinn's face. "Don't you understand, Rachel!? Why on Earth wouldn't I want to kill you?" Quinn screeched, advancing on her. Rachel started walking backwards in step with Quinn's charge.

"What could _possibly_ stop me from wanting to kill someone, Rachel, tell me!"

"I," Rachel yelped as she backed up against another tree. "I don't know, Quinn!"

"_I love you._" The three words slipped out without Quinn really meaning them to. They felt hard but easy, harsh but soft, ridiculous and sincere, pointless and significant. They were all those things at once, and Rachel could feel how much of Quinn had just been thrust into the open. Because no matter how much the blonde had kicked and fought and tried, she couldn't deny it anymore. She was capable of feeling love, and now the words were out there, she couldn't hide it anymore.

Quinn Fabray was a person, not a machine.

Rachel's jaw was still open in shock, because she honestly had no idea of how she was supposed to react to that.

"That's why I have to kill you." Quinn said. Rachel did the only thing she could think of, which was to hold Quinn close and beg her not to.

"You don't have to do anything, Quinn."

"You don't understand." Quinn whimpered. And she didn't. The shorter girl would never be able to understand what was going on in Quinn's head at that moment. The war between '_kill her kill her kill her_' and '_I love you I love you I love you_'. It was Quinn against Lucy and Quinn never lost.

"You don't-" Rachel gasped in shock and then screamed in pain when Quinn stabbed her in the stomach, tears still streaming from her eyes. Rachel looked up at Quinn as she sunk to the ground, and Quinn followed her down, her hand practically welded to the handle of the blade.

"I'm sorry." She sobbed. "I'm sorry Rachel, I had to. I had to." She pulled the knife back and watched Rachel's face for a moment. "I'm so sorry." Quinn said again, quickly grabbing her other two knives and walking away. She broke into a run a few seconds later and flinched at the sound of the cannon.

* * *

She stopped when she saw the Cornucopia and wiped her hand clean on her jacket, which she discarded right after.

"Only one left." Quinn said. She forced all other thoughts out of her head and moved closer to the Cornucopia so that she could decide on a plan of attack. She could see that Bree had taken the time to arrange the supplies in a line, so even though Quinn would have a wide range of weapons to choose from to fight Bree with, she only had one entrance, which gave Bree a marginal advantage. As all of Quinn's confusion and heartbreak and weakness was forced out of her head, her old, reliable tactical mind shifted into gear. She relaxed as she did so, returning to her area of expertise, knowing that she wasn't just good at this; she was the best. One dull thought slipped through her mind, challenging her judgment and strengthening her fear.

_What are you looking for?_

She ignored the question and started looking for an entrance that wasn't what Bree was expecting.

* * *

There was nothing that could stop her now. She had her mace, she knew which direction Quinn was coming from, she had eaten, she wasn't thirsty, she was well rested – Bree was capable. She was going to kill Quinn; she was _finally_ going to kill Quinn. She was sitting just in front of the opening to the Cornucopia, waiting for the blonde to enter her trap. There was nothing left to be done, other than to wait for the girl to come, because she would come. Everyone else was dead, and there was no point in waiting. Bree was watching the path in front of her so intently that she didn't notice the muffled footsteps from behind her.

"Hello, Bree." She heard Quinn's voice and jumped to her feet, looking around wildly to try and figure out where the girl was standing.

"It looks like I've got the drop on you." Quinn said. Bree whirled and looked up just in time to see Quinn jumping off of the Cornucopia, knives out and ready. Bree hopped out of the way and snatched up her mace as Quinn hit the floor and rolled. Both girls lunged together, but Bree snuck in and knocked the first knife out of Quinn's hand. It was replaced in the blink of an eye and flying at Bree's throat the next. Bree dodged out of the way again and swung towards Quinn's head. The blonde raised her arm and blocked it, not even grunting. Only then did Bree notice the thin, plastic, but nonetheless protective armour Quinn had around her forearms.

"Nice try." Quinn smirked, slamming her free fist into Bree's face. Bree reeled back and growled, swinging her elbow into Quinn's mouth. The knife clattered to the ground somewhere behind them and Quinn grabbed the head of the mace with both hands, twisting and wrenching it out of Bree's grasp.

"And that's enough of that, thank you." She added, stepping back so she could kick her heel against Bree's knee. Bree brought her shin up and took the brunt of the force, making her stumble back.

"Face it." Quinn snarled. "These Games are mine." Bree screamed and threw another punch, which Quinn caught and used to flip her over her shoulder. She grabbed her other hand and wound one arm around Bree's neck. She had Bree up against her front, facing away and straining to breath.

"Any last words?"

"Do you respect me?" Bree choked. Quinn tightened her hold.

"Yes."

"Do you care about me?"

"I only care about you dying, Brooks."

"Oh, come on. After all this time, all this rivalry, that's all you care about?" Bree laughed. "Not even a little bit of sentiment towards lowly District 3 Tribute Bree Brooks, who killed three people?" Bree barked. It was all Quinn could do to not bite her ear off.

"Make no mistake; I only care about one person. And I just killed her." Quinn spat.

"Then why aren't I dead yet? What are you afraid of?" There was a long pause where all could be heard was the trembling breaths of both Tributes.

"Nothing." Quinn answered, finally snapping her neck. The final cannon fired and Claudius Templesmith's voice echoed above her. Quinn ignored him, having not finished answering the question.

"I'm not afraid of anything."

* * *

In the following days, Quinn found few things interesting. She was made to stay in bed for a few days, though it was hardly necessary in her opinion. They did tests and performed medicals and other such things, and Quinn was told that she had a wide array of injuries that she hadn't noticed from either determination or adrenaline; or a combination of both. Quinn could have easily told them that she did in fact feel all of her ailments, but decided instead to let the doctors remain baffled at her total lack of acknowledgment to her injuries. She had lightly sprained her ankle when she jumped off of the Cornucopia, which came as no surprise to her. There were a few knicks on the base of her hands from having her knives under her sleeves, and the knuckles on her right were bruised from punching Bree in the face. Her left wrist was jarred from the force with which Bree had beaten the knife out of her hand, and there was a fracture in her radius on the same arm. One of her teeth had been chipped, something she had actually noticed as soon as she latched onto the ladder that lifted her out of the Arena. So she was instructed to stay in bed while they fixed it. She was sedated for the first two days, but the third time she woke up and the nurse came in she told them to 'stop making me sleep already, it's not like I'm _going_ anywhere.' Sue had been brought in soon after, and Quinn had blatantly ignored her. Once she was back on her feet, Sue took her to meet the other Victors that she would be working with in future. They walked side by side down the corridor and Quinn stopped dutifully when Sue did, turning left to open the door to the mentor's common room.

"The brat hasn't said a word to me since she woke up." Sue huffed. "Good luck getting anything out of her." She said, storming across the room and observing from the opposite wall. Quinn stepped in and looked around, taking a moment to absorb the room. To her right was a bar, and a blonde woman who appeared to be very drunk was standing behind it. To her left was a kitchen with a full fridge and a kettle for making tea or coffee. One whole wall was taken up by televisions, which she assumed were for watching the Games on. There was a sliver of window on either side of the mass of screens, giving the impression that there was a view for all of the Victors who had rooms against that wall. Beyond the bar on her right was a door, which she presumed led to the rooms where the mentors slept. There was another door in the same section of wall to her left, which obviously held the same purpose. In front of her there was a dip in the floor and three couches plus an armchair sat in that dip, all facing the screens. Most of the mentors were sitting on those couches, but Quinn quickly noticed the absence of one person.

She had no idea who it was, but they weren't there.

As she took a closer look, she was somewhat surprised to see that most of the Victors in front of her were female. She recognized Holly Holiday; being from the first Games Quinn ever watched the whole way through. There were certain things a child never forgot, and Quinn knew that Lucy was the one to watch those. She had been eight at the time, long before Quinn ever existed. Quinn wasn't afraid, she was afraid of nothing, but Lucy would have shrunk back at the sight of Holly, remembering vividly the things she did.

Shelby Corcoran caught her eye as well, who she knew more about than recalled, having not witnessed her Games first hand. Adam Crawford jumped out too, because he had only won his Games in the last four years. She knew they were all staring at her, and couldn't help but wonder if they did this every time they were introduced to a new Victor.

That and what they could possibly be thinking about her.

"We're waiting, Q. It's time to speak." Quinn recognized Sue's voice but didn't look over, her eyes caught on the screen to the bottom right, showing a rerun of the highlights in the Games. Which was, typically, when she found Rachel in the train station.

"You aren't the boss of me, Sue." She responded automatically. Holly stood up and walked over to her, holding her hand out to shake Quinn's. Still stuck on the monitor, Quinn almost didn't register the movement, but when she did Holly was right in front of her, searching her eyes for something. Quinn almost physically jumped in surprise but didn't, reaching out and shaking her hand. She saw Holly's frown and widened her eyes for a second before she was suddenly pulled into a hug.

"I-" Quinn sputtered. "I don't-"

"Calm down, Quinn."

"Please let go of me." Quinn said quietly. She heard Holly chuckle quietly and say something under her breath.

"It's okay to feel." She said, pulling away. Quinn glared and Holly laughed.

"You don't run this place, not yet. But I look forward to when you do."

"Here's to that." Adam said. "Anyone's going to be better than Sue."

"Feel free to show her up when_ever_ you can." Shelby smiled. Quinn looked around again to see that everyone was on their feet, looking at her with warm smiles but sad eyes, and Quinn didn't understand what was happening.

"We're all here for you, Q." Will said. "It's new and it seems scary, but that's only because it's not." Quinn thought she was genuinely going mad. This made exactly _no_ sense.

"I'm sorry, but what the actual fuck is happening right now?" she asked.

"Well, you won, didn't you?" April slurred.

"You're one of us now." Burt said.

"We look out for each other," Shannon added, "Because no one else will."

"The Career's are always the worst after their Games." Emma said. "Because they grow up in the most alien environment."

"And there's really only one person you have to worry about while you're here, and that's Cassie." Isabelle smiled. "Don't worry, she's really harmless."

"We know it's hard, and you won't get it," Holly said, still directly in front of her. "But you would know better than anyone, we are _people._ We are the product of the Capitol's sick ideas, and none of us want to do what they want us do. This is our protest." Quinn looked at her like she was mad.

"What protest?" Quinn asked. "None of this makes any sense! This isn't… I don't…" Quinn trailed off, furrowing her brow in thought. "Oh."

"Hm?" Holly grunted.

"_Oh._" Quinn repeated. "I see."

"We knew you were too smart to miss it, Q." Sue said, smirking slightly.

* * *

Quinn was almost home. She laughed at that. She was on her way back to District 1, where her mother and her sister were probably waiting for her to come back. She was absently fiddling with the necklace her mother had given her before she left. It was a simple design, which meant next to nothing to Quinn, but she felt it held some sort of symbolic connection to her family, so she was wearing it now that the Games were over. It was a pendant necklace with a silver chain and a plain cross, and wearing it made her feel better. She was sitting in one of the booth seats in the dining car, with her head rested against the window. It was picturesque. She closed her eyes and imagined the scene from outside of her head. She could see over a forest, which had a path cleared through it. A train ran over that, and if you looked closely, you could see a pretty blonde girl in a white dress looking out the window. She was toying with her necklace, much like a child would, and the trees she was watching were reflected in her hazel eyes. If you looked even closer you could understand that she had been through so much, but you might not have been able to see it. Hell, all you would be able to see is a girl. And maybe, if you were lucky, you would know that she liked rainy days. Quinn was lost in thought, about what she had lost, but what she had gained from it.

It had surprised her, when she became aware that she had missed a great many possibilities in her future on the morning of the Reaping. She was preparing herself for a fight, for a war. She was ready to kill people and use people and to strategize and manipulate. And, at first, this is what she did. And she had excelled in her efforts. But now she knew better, and the most surprising thing of all was that she was looking forward to seeing her mother again. She was looking forward to being back in District 1, and maybe if she was lucky her new home would have a balcony on the third floor facing the backyard, and the walls would be off-white and ivy would be climbing up to the roof of the house. Maybe, if she was lucky, she would be able to stay Lucy for a little bit longer. Maybe, if she was lucky, Quinn would only ever be needed for the Victory Tour and the Hunger Games she would mentor in. Quinn hoped it could be like that, because as it was the heartbreak and the loss of her friends was bearable. For the first time in a long time, Lucy was less broken than Quinn. But they were both fast mending, on the way to becoming one whole person instead of two separate entities built to protect each other.

Most of all, Quinn had learnt to love.

The train stopped at the station in District 1 and Sue rested her hand on her shoulder.

"You ready, Q?" She said, genuinely concerned. Quinn looked up at her and smiled something that was innocent and solid. There was no malice, or intent, or hidden meaning. There were no negative connotations in Quinn's smile anymore.

"Yeah."

* * *

**A/N: Okay, so, some of you are missing the bit that Quinn understands at the end. The idea is that it's so simple people look over it. The Hunger Games are supposed to divide the Districts so the Capitol can control them more easily, and the stand the Victors make is doing to exact opposite. They're supportive of each other, like a family. They're the result of the Games and they're deliberately doing the exact opposite of what the Capitol wants.**

**So, there it is! Thanks for reading, guys!**


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